Sunyani, Oct. 16, GNA - A 54-year-old man who posed as the Lawra District Director of Education in Upper West Region and an NPP activist and duped district assemblies of several sums of money was on Thursday remanded by a magistrate's court at Sunyani.

Kofi Adarkwa pleaded not guilty when he appeared before the court presided by Mr Charles Adjei Wilson and will reappear on October 27. The prosecution told the court that Adarkwa approached Mrs Akua Akubuor Debrah, acting Brong Ahafo Regional Director of Education in August this year at her office and identified himself as the Lawra District Director of Education.

According to the prosecution, he told her that he had heard of a vacancy at the Sene District and wanted to be transferred there to fill the position.

He said Mrs Debrah directed the suspect to Accra to see the Director General of Education for the assistance. Suspicious of Adarkwa's moves Mrs. Debrah impounded a vehicle belonging to the Sene District Education Directorate, which the accused was using and promised to release it to him on his return from his trip to Accra.

Adarkwa returned to Mrs Debrah on October 10, this year with a letter signed by a teacher at Dominase Bekwai in the Ashanti Region, which indicated that he had been transferred to the Sene District. He could, however, not answer questions posed by Mrs. Debrah on the letter and she called in the police.

The suspect refused to give his statement to the police during interrogation and denied deceiving several persons and collecting huge sums of money from them, saying the Atebubu DCE and the Public Relations Officer for the Sene District Assembly, who were his friends, only gave him 50,000 cedis and 150,000 cedis respectively.