Sixteen years ago, fortune smiled unexpectedly on Francis Agbavitor, a humble carpenter from Kyebi in Ghana’s Eastern Region. Through Vodafone’s customer reward campaign in 2009, he was declared the winner of a fully furnished luxury home at Trassaco Valley in Accra — along with a brand-new SUV.
He was given a four (4) bedroom fully furnished house at Trassaco Valley in Accra, a 4x4 Mistubishi Pajero with a personal driver for three months.
What appeared to be a doorway into wealth and stability, however, soon unravelled into a tale of fear, poor decisions, and eventual loss.
Agbavitor recalls that when he first received the phone call confirming his prize, he was not only shocked but terrified.
Unsure of what the sudden attention might mean for his safety, he abandoned his workshop in Kyebi and walked all the way to Koforidua, hoping to hide from the spotlight.
Vodafone representatives eventually tracked him down and escorted him to Accra, where he was officially handed the keys to the mansion.
In no time, neighbours and onlookers were pointing him out as “the man who won the house.”
But owning a multimillion-cedi home in one of Ghana’s most expensive communities soon became a heavy burden.
Unable to maintain the property, Agbavitor rented it out to a Nigerian national for $1,500 a month.
The arrangement soon soured, with the tenant allegedly mismanaging the house.
Seeking help, the carpenter turned to a trusted friend who promised to step in.
The friend raised money to settle matters with the tenant and subsequently proposed buying the mansion from Agbavitor for $500,000.
Out of loyalty, Agbavitor surrendered the original property documents without keeping copies — a decision he now describes as his biggest mistake.
He received part payment — $100,000 deposited into his account, about GH¢200,000 in cash, and occasional stipends for upkeep.
But the full agreed amount never came.
Later, he discovered that the mansion had allegedly been sold to footballer Emmanuel Adebayor, and he has since lost both the property and contact with his friend.
With part of the initial funds, Agbavitor managed to acquire a modest house in Kyebi, where he now lives quietly with his family. But business has slowed, and financial struggles remain constant.
“I trusted too much, and I lost everything. I just want Ghanaians to know my story and support me if they can,” he said in a recent interview.
Once celebrated as a symbol of luck and transformation, Agbavitor’s story now stands as a cautionary tale about the dangers of misplaced trust and the importance of safeguarding life-changing opportunities.
Francis has narrated it all in an interview on SVTV Africa on Youtube and its various social media handles.
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