Sole survivor of ‘Deadly Voyage’ granted bail over €130,000 fraud

Kingsley Ofosu, the sole survivor of the 'Deadly Voyage' stowaway fame, accused of a €130,000 fraud, remains in police custody after failing to meet the bail conditions.

The Takoradi Circuit Court 'B', presided over by Ms. Henrietta Charway on Monday, granted him GH¢2,000,000 bail, along with two sureties, one of whom should justify ownership of landed properties. The sureties are also required to deposit their Ghana Cards at the court, while Ofosu must deposit his Ghanaian passport at the court registry.

As of the time of filing this report, Ofosu had not met the bail conditions, and the case has been adjourned to Monday, November 20.

Meanwhile, the plea of the accused was not taken, as the prosecutor, Inspector Robert Yawson, informed the court that investigations had not yet concluded.

Ofosu, also known as Cudjoe, is facing charges of €130,000 fraud and will answer questions on charges of stealing and defrauding by false pretense.

Insp. Yawson explained that the complainant in the case, Sylvia Ansah, is an Assistant Registrar at the Takoradi Technical University (TTU) and resides in West Tanokrom. The accused, Kingsley Ofosu, is a trader and resides in Tanokrom, Takoradi.

The prosecution stated that in 1998, the accused received an unspecified sum of money from Ms. Ansah's uncle, Charles Ohemeng, based in Germany, to clear his goods that were shipped to the Tema Port.

After clearing one tipper truck, one petrol tanker, one 33-seater Mercedes Benz, one 207 Mercedes Benz, one Ford Macronova, and one set of industrial printing machines, along with other valuable goods, totaling 130,000 Euros (GH¢1,613,124.62), Ofosu absconded without giving the money realized from the sale of the vehicles and goods to the complainant, Sylvia Ansah.

Insp. Yawson recalled that in 1998, the accused also collected GH¢300 from the complainant's sister, Emma Ohemeng, now deceased, under the pretext of renting a bigger apartment for her at Top 10, Takoradi, but he disappeared after receiving the money.

Insp. Yawson said an informant spotted the accused at a funeral at Ningo Prampram in the Greater Accra Region, and reported the case to the police at Kwesimintsim. The police personnel liaised with Ningo Prampram District Police and arrested Ofosu.

The prosecution stated that in his investigation caution statement, the accused admitted the offense.

In 1992, Kingsley Ofosu made international headlines after he survived the slaughter of a group of African stowaways by the crew of a Bahamian-flagged Ukrainian-crewed cargo ship, MC Rugby. Ofosu lost his half-brother, Albert Cudjoe, who was shot when they tried to escape as the only two survivors.

When the trial of the crew members made international headlines, multiple film companies approached Ofosu to purchase the rights to his story. He eventually signed a deal with Union Pictures and Viva Films. The Union Pictures/Viva Films production was to be distributed to and financed by HBO and the BBC.

The cast of 'Deadly Voyage' included Omar Epps as Kingsley Ofosu, Joss Ackland as the ship's captain, Sean Pertwee as Ion Plesin, David Suchet as Andreas Vlachos, Ghana's David Dontoh, Oscar Provencal, and Juliet Asante.