Assault on suspected lady thief: Otiko must bite – Group

The Women’s Wing of a group calling itself the Progressive Alliance Media Communicators have condemned a recent mob action on a suspected lady thief, urging the Gender and Social Protection Minister Otiko Djaba to institute a probe and punish the culprits.

The lady, accused of having stolen GHS1,100 ($250) on Friday February 17, was stripped naked, beaten, and paraded barefooted on the streets of Kejetia in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital, by a marauding crowd of men, who repeatedly pushed her down, forced her legs open for mobile phone pictures and videos to be taken of her vagina while others violently inserted their toes into her orifice and spanked her buttocks simultaneously in a noisy melee.

Desperate pleas by the fair-skinned alleged lady thief, whose clothes were all torn off except for her red brassiere, did not deter her Twi-speaking accusers from unleashing instant justice on her.

The irate crowd slapped, shoved, pulled and pushed the lady in every direction while groping her private parts.

This has incurred the displeasure of the group which stated in a press release that the mob action was “unworthy”, adding that “in a society that is governed by rule of law and where fundamental human rights of every individual remain the pillar in every democratic society, it would have been more appropriate for the mob to treat this lady in a manner that would have been in conformity with the laws and conventions of this nation rather than acting capriciously and mercilessly to manhandle the suspect in an inhumane manner in the full glare of the public”.

The statement continued: “We consider this act unacceptable and condemn it with no uncertainty, taking into consideration the moral values of our society and the very foundation of our democracy which is respect for human rights at all times.”

Even though the group indicated that it was not in support of any thievery which the suspect may have indulged in, it felt the actions of the mob was totally wrong hence Ms Djaba must take the issue up and have the perpetrators sanctioned for the act meted out to the lady.