News
Bechem PRESEC gang-rape: Victim’s mother appeals for justice
The mother of a 15-year-old Form One student of Bechem Presbyterian Senior High School (PRESEC) who was allegedly gang-raped by six final year students of the school has appealed to the Police to be expeditious in their investigations for justice to prevail.
The Police at Bechem in the Tano South Municipality of Ahafo Region have arrested and placed three of the suspects in custody and launched a manhunt for the other three who are currently on the run.
The arrested suspects are Agyem Frimpong, Emmanuel Ankama and one Osman. Another accomplice, Kyeremaa Hamida, a female final year student who aided the suspects to commit the crime is also in Police custody, assisting investigations.
The sad incident happened last Saturday, (February 10) around 9:30pm, when the accomplice Hamida allegedly lured the unsuspecting victim (name withheld) to a dilapidated structure, near the girl’s dormitory where the suspects gang-raped her, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) learnt.
A reliable source at the Bechem Police Station confirmed the story and added the suspects were yet to be arraigned for court. Speaking in an interview with the GNA, Mrs Victoria Otu, the victim’s mother, said the condition of her daughter had worsened and appealed for justice to prevail.
“The school authority rang to inform me about the incident and what we need now is to seek justice for our child,” she stated. A medical report from the Duayaw-Nkwanta St. John of God Catholic Hospital sighted by the GNA confirmed the victim had been raped.
Narrating her ordeal, the victim told the GNA she was lying on her bed when the suspect Hamida approached and asked her to “see her outside.”
“When we got outside, she told me to follow her to the drying-line area and upon reaching the place she handed me over to the six boys who were standing behind the structure and all of them forcibly had sex with me,” she stated. —GNA
News
GFP founder Akua Donkor passes on
Akua Donkor
The founder and leader of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP), Madam Akua Donkor, has passed away.
She died at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital on Monday, October 28 at 72.
Reports gathered by The Spectator indicated that she was diagnosed with respiratory issues at the Nsawam Government Hospital and was referred to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital where she died.
Known for her spirited presence in Ghanaian politics, Akua Donkor was a staunch advocate for the rights of farmers and women.
Her bold and outspoken demeanour enabled her to capture public attention and significantly impact the grassroots communities she aimed to represent.
Throughout her political journey, she distinguished herself by running for the presidency multiple ti mes, demonstrating remarkable resilience despite financial challenges.
Akua Donkor was listed as the third candidate on the ballot for the upcoming 2024 presidential election.
Her political career began with her election as the Assemblywoman for Herman in the Ashanti region, and she made her first bid for the presidency in 2012 as an independent candidate.
She was, however, disqualified by the Electoral Commission in 2012 and 2016 for the reason that she did not meet the eligibility requirements.
News
Stop using breast enhancing creams …they expose females to breast cancer
Mrs Enyonam Abiti making a presentation
Women have been cautioned to stop using of breast enhancing creams which is said to contain estrogen, predisposing them to the breast cancer disease.
Using such creams over time increases estrogen levels in patrons of such products thereby exposing them to the disease.
Estrogen is a type of sex hormone responsible for development and regulation of female reproductive system and secondary sex chart.
Mrs Enyonam Abiti, a medical officer at Madina Pentecost Hospital, said this at a day’s seminar and breast cancer awareness creation day at Sunyani in the Bono Region.
The programme, organised by the Bono Regional office of COCOBOD, forms part of activities to mark this year’s World Breast Cancer Day celebrations held every year in October.
Some staff of COCOBOD and women in cocoa farming used the opportunity to have their breast screened.
Mrs Abiti during a presentation revealed that one in every eight women was diagnosed of breast cancer while 1 from 1,000 men contract the disease.
She noted that early detection and regular screening was the surest way to salvage the situation.
She mentioned that habits such as excessive smoking and alcohol intake predisposes women to breast cancer.
Moreover, she added that people advanced in age, past history, past ovarian cancer case as well as young girls that menstruate early, among others stands the risk of contracting the disease.
The Bono Regional Administrator of COCOBOD, Michael Paddy Kwesi Asumanu, stated that the decision to organise the breast screening was to ensure that women in cocoa farming were healthy at all times to go about their farming activities in order to increase productivity.
“We don’t want a situation where our women in cocoa farming are infected with breast cancer disease to jeopardise the cocoa sector,” he said.
According him, the Regional Office of COCOBOD in partnership with the Bono Regional Teaching hospital would organised screening for about 4,000 women on October 31, 2024 at Goaso in the Ahafo Region.
The move, he said, was part of their corporate social responsibility towards women as the world mark breast cancer awareness creation this month.
Some of the women who spoke to The Spectator commended COCOBOD for the gesture and called on other institutions of state to emulate the example.
The organisers later held a float on the principal streets of Sunyani to create awareness on the breast cancer disease.
From Daniel Dzirasah, Sunyani