News
Court remands auto mechanic for defiling 12-yr-old girl
A 25-year-old auto mechanic has been remanded into police custody by the Ejisu District Court for defiling a 12-year-old girl at Domeabra in Ejisu of Ashanti Region.
Joseph Sarkodie has been charged with defilement, but his plea was not taken during his first appearance at the court presided over by Mr Kwaku Baah Frempong on Monday May 18, 2020.
The suspect would reappear before the court on June 1, 2020.
Presenting the facts of the case, the prosecutor, Police Chief Inspector Emmanuel Appiah Kubi, told the court that, the victim (name withheld) on May 10, 2020, at about 7:30 pm was commuting from her elder sister’s house to her home in the Domeabra vicinity where she met Sarkodie.
According to prosecution, Sarkodie offered to escort the victim to her home, but was surprisingly lured into an uncompleted building and forced her to have sexual intercourse through her anus.
The victim immediately after the incident reported to her elder sister who led her to report to the Domestic Violence Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ejisu Police Station.
The court heard that, the victim was issued with a police medical report form to be taken to any government hospital for examination to be conducted on her, and the victim was taken to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Hospital.
According to Chief Inspector Appiah Kubi, the medical form which was duly endorsed by a medical officer was brought to DOVVSU and it confirmed that the victim’s hymen was broken, whitish discharge was found in the private part, fecal matter found at the anus, among other findings.
DOVVSU, upon receiving the medical report, arrested Sarkodie and detained him at the Ejisu Police Station, where his caution statement was taken, and he admitted to the crime of inserting his penis into the victim’s anus, but denied having sexual intercourse with her.
FROM FAUSTINA KWABEA OSEI, KUMASI
News
Ghana-Colombia strengthens ties through diplomatic engagement
In an important diplomatic engagement, the Colombian Ambassador to Ghana H.E. Daniel Garces Carabali paid a courtesy call on the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, at his office in Accra to discuss some key areas of collaboration.
The meeting focused on pressing issues, including security, decongestion of Ghana’s prisons, prison reform programmes, training programmes, improving the welfare of prisoners and enhancing disaster management in the country.
The courtesy call underscores the growing bilateral ties between Ghana and Colombia, building on previous engagements, such as the visit of the Colombian Vice President to Ghana in 2023.
The meeting demonstrates the commitment of both nations to fostering cooperation and addressing shared challenges.
News
Ghana to host African Catholic Journalists from August 10
The Union Catholique Africaine de la Presse (UCAP), also known as the African Catholic Union of the Press, in collaboration with the Catholic Association of Media Practitioners-Ghana (CAMP-G), is set to host its prestigious Triennial Congress from August 10 to 17 August, 2025.
The programme would be held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Legon, Accra, Ghana.
This landmark event, the most significant gathering of Catholic journalists in Africa, will bring together media professionals, researchers, and experts in digital technology from across the continent and beyond.
The theme for the Congress is: “Balancing Technological Progress and the Preservation of Human Values in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
Congress Highlights
The UCAP Congress 2025 will feature discussions and deliberations on critical issues arising from or related to integral human development, particularly within the framework of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Some of the key sub-themes to be addressed include:Corporate Social Responsibility in Managing the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Human Values, Deploying AI in Eco-friendly Business Start-ups in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges, Technology and the Reprogramming of Social Reality, Distortion of Reality in Social and Digital Media, Ecological Education and Action Against Unsustainable Exploitation of Natural Resources, and Media and the Promotion of the Recommendations of the Synod on Synodality in Africa.
Participants will include media professionals from both ecclesiastical and lay organisations, media researchers and academics, representatives from the Vatican, government agencies, NGOs, civil society, and the digital technology sector.
Objectives of the Congress
The primary goal of this Congress is to strengthen the capacities of media professionals and educate the public on the necessity of preserving human values amid rapid technological progress. Specific objectives include; Training 100 media practitioners in Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, with a focus on balancing innovation and human values.
This will include promoting ethics and bioethics in technical research and technological innovations through media.
Advocating for human values such as respect for life, human dignity, charity, solidarity, and human rights and assessing the impact of technological progress to better understand the challenges, risks, and opportunities presented by AI will be part of the objectives.
UCAP is a continental organisation dedicated to promoting communication within the Catholic Church and its partners in Africa. With a mission to foster spiritual growth, collaboration, and responsible journalism, UCAP works to spread the Gospel, uphold human values, and support developmental initiatives across Africa and beyond.
UCAP is an independent, autonomous, non-political, and non-profit organisation comprising African Catholic journalists, communicators, academics, researchers, and institutions in various media fields.
