Two men who posed as journalists arrested for fraud

Nkwanta, Mar 4, GNA - Christopher Selorm Adzivor and King Emil Short= , who claimed they were the Volta Regional correspondents of "The Independe= nt" and "The Event" newspapers respectively have been arrested by the Nkwanta=

police for alleged impersonation and extortion. Adzivor and Short, who said they were acting on behalf of the Department of Social Welfare, were arrested at the "God's Eye Orphanage" at Nkwanta on March 1 in the process of extorting 300 Ghana cedis from the orphanage. Mr Douglas Kwaman, Nkwanta District Police Commander, told the Ghana=

News Agency that Adzivor and Short had collected 200 Ghana cedis from the=

Orphanage on February 27 to suspend the closure of the Orphanage and publication of news about alleged poor conditions there.

Mr Kwaman said the two were arrested on March 1 while in the proc= ess of collecting 300 Ghana cedis being the second instalment of the 500 Ghan= a cedis they had charged the Orphanage. He said Adzivor and Short, who are on bail, would be arraigned as so= on as investigations are complete.

Mr John Gesu Mensah, Executive Director of the Orphanage, told the G= NA that Adzivor and Short called at the orphanage and introduced themselves as journalists working on behalf of the Department of Social Welfare to clos= e down the orphanage and have its inmates relocated to Accra due to alleged=

poor conditions.

He said the two suggested that the orphanage paid 500 cedis in order= to be allowed some time to carry out rehabilitation works. Mr Mensah said some volunteers working at the orphanage doled out 10= 0 cedis each as part-payment and asked the two to come for the second instalment the following Monday.

He said they were arrested when they returned to receive the top-up cash. Mr Victor Kwawukume, Volta Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists=

Association (GJA), has cautioned organizations and individuals to be wary= of impostors going round as representatives of certain media houses. He appealed to organizations to report anybody claiming to be a journalist who demands money in payment for his or her services saying "n= o payments are made for news items".