An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced a 38-year-old private bailiff, Kojo Budu Jackson, to four years imprisonment with hard labour after he was found guilty of attempting to defraud using forged court documents.
The bailiff jailed for forging court documents had falsified a court order and a divorce certificate, claiming they were issued by a retired magistrate of the Ejisu District Court in the Ashanti Region. The forged documents bore the scanned signature of the retired judge and the official stamp of the court registrar.
Jackson initially pleaded not guilty when charged with forging judicial service documents. However, at the hearing last Tuesday, just before the prosecution began presenting its case, he abruptly changed his plea to guilty, prompting an immediate conviction.
In addition to the four-year custodial sentence, the court imposed a fine of 200 penalty units, equivalent to GH₵2,400. If the fine is not paid within a month, Jackson will serve an extra year behind bars.
The case originated in June 2024, when the Judicial Secretary reported a suspected forgery syndicate involving court documents to the Ghana Police Service. Jackson, then serving as a private bailiff at the Ejisu District Court, was named in the complaint.
Acting on the report, police placed him under surveillance and arrested him on August 13, 2024. A search of his home uncovered multiple forged legal documents, including divorce affidavits and certificates.
Under interrogation, Jackson admitted to producing the documents due to financial pressure, particularly rent arrears. Investigators confirmed that the forged Certificate of Divorce, dated May 8, 2024, had been digitally manipulated, with a scanned signature of the former magistrate and a counterfeit court stamp.
Further investigations revealed that several other legal documents found in his possession were also forged, indicating a broader pattern of document fraud.
