06/06/2026
FOOLISH CASE
The term "foolish case" is a local jargon commonly used to refer to situations where a case reported to the police does not proceed any further and the accused or suspected is left to go without any punishment.
Cases may become "Foolish case" for several reasons including but not limited to the following:
1. Lack of evidence against the claim. Some people report cases based on their emotions and when they are asked to bring evidence for the police to proceed, they are unable to bring any credible evidence.
2. Lack of criminality of the act reported - some people report actions they do not like but those actions may not be crimes at all. For example, it's morally wrong to have s*x with your wives mother. But the law on in**st in Ghana does not make this act a crime.
3. Lack of commitment to testify - some people will report a case and when it's time for them to go and sign their witness statements and testify in court, they will not make themselves available. This makes it impossible for the police to proceed with the case. This case can also become Foolish case when the court strikes it out for want of prosecution.
4. The Police themselves also sometimes use their own administrative procedures to frustrate cases. Example, investigators can be transferred without doing adequate handing over to another person. Others are simply not interested in the case.
I believe the police is to be blamed if the court strikes this Baby Thief case out.
WHY
The police is already in possession of CCTV footage which they used to identify and arrest the accused. In my humble view, this is enough evidence to nail the accused even if the complainants to not show up to testify.
Ghana Police Service please do not allow this case to become a Foolish case.