An Adenta Circuit Court has granted bail to two persons accused of setting fire to a two-bedroom apartment at Oyarifa Anointed Down, Accra.
The accused, Mohammed Issah, an Immigration Officer, and Jennifer Mae Tomlinson, a Jamaican-Canadian national, were each admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢350,000 with two sureties, to be justified with landed property.
The court, presided over by Mrs. Angela Attachie, ordered Tomlinson, the second accused, to deposit her passport at the court’s registry.
The accused persons, in the presence of their lawyers, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit crime, namely causing harm, and causing unlawful damage to their landlord’s water tank, the value of which was unknown.
Tomlinson was additionally charged with causing unlawful damage to a building valued at GH¢350,000, belonging to one Frederick Atogiyire, her landlord, by allegedly setting it ablaze.
The case was adjourned to February 11, 2026.
When the matter was called on Monday, January 12, 2026, the prosecution amended the facts and charges.
The prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Maxwell Lanyo, did not oppose bail but prayed to the court to ensure that the bail terms would compel the accused persons to attend court.
According to the amended facts, the complainant, Atogiyire, was a public servant and resident of Oyarifa, Accra, and the landlord of the accused persons.
The prosecution said Issah and Tomlinson, who were in a relationship, rented a two-bedroom apartment from Atogiyire in October 2025 for one year.
It said that on December 21, 2025, a misunderstanding ensued between Issah and Tomlinson, during which they allegedly damaged the landlord’s polytank by setting it on fire.
The prosecution said that some hours later, Issah, the first accused, left the house without informing the police or the landlord of what had occurred.
The court heard that on December 23, 2025, Tomlinson drove to the residence of a friend, a prosecution witness who operated a drinking spot in the same neighbourhood, to inform her that she had had issues with her boyfriend and that, as a result, Issah had left home for days, adding that she had set the apartment ablaze.
The prosecution said the friend sat in Tomlinson’s car, and they returned to the apartment while it was on fire.
“Immediately the friend got down from the second accused car, she sped off and went into hiding,” the prosecutor said.
The prosecution said Atogiyire reported the matter to the police on December 23, 2025, leading to the arrest of Issah at his hideout, where he was cautioned.
It said Tomlinson was arrested on December 25, 2025, at about 1230 hours from her hideout, but declined to give a statement to the police, indicating she was waiting for her lawyer.
The prosecution said Tomlinson later gave her statement voluntarily on December 27, 2025.
It said Issah and Tomlinson both denied the offences after investigations.
GNA
