Accra, Aug.5, GNA - An Accra Circuit Court presided over by Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa on Thursday acquitted and discharged Grace Omaboe, (aka Maame Dokono) by upholding the submission of no case filed by defence counsel.
Grace, a popular actress and proprietor of Peace and Love Orphanage, was charged with neglect, operating an orphanage without a licence and exposing a child to harm.
She pleaded not guilty and granted GH¢30,000 bail with two sureties.
Mrs Mensah-Datsa delivering the 22-page judgment said the court upheld the motion by Mrs Joyce Attafuah, Counsel for Grace that no prima facia case had been established against the accused.
She said 93having carefully studied the submission of no case filed by the accused and based on the evidence of the prosecution and its evaluation, the court acquits and discharges the accused".
Deputy Superintendent of Police Kofi Blagodzi, prosecuting said Grace registered the orphanage with the Department of Social Welfare in March 2005.
He said however, the licence to operate expired in March 2006 but
was not renewed and operated illegally.
The prosecution said in 2004, Nana Yaa Agyeman, Supervisor of
Orphanage wrote to the National Commission on Children about the
deplorable conditions at the orphanage but no action was taken.
He said Grace failed to employ adequate staff to manage the
orphanage while the children were not fed properly leaving some of
them malnourished in dark and poorly ventilated rooms.
Mr Blagodzi said as a result of the darkness due to non-payment of
electricity bills, the older inmates took advantage to abuse the young
inmates sexually.
He said on December 31, 2008 Grace left for Holland and left only
GH¢50 for the upkeep of the children and that the situation deteriorated
and complaints were made to the Department of Social Welfare that
sent an official to inspect the orphanage.
It was recommended that four of the inmates should be evacuated
and two of them Daaduam Omaboe, two years old, and Barrack Omaboe,
six months old should be sent to other orphanages.
He said they were sent to another orphanage, Beacon House, where it
was detected that both inmates had been sodomised.
Mr Blagodzi said investigations revealed that some of the inmates
below 12 years of age took advantage of the darkness and lack of
supervision to defile and sodomised the younger ones.
He said Joseph Kobby Omaboe and Adom Omaboe were put in boiling
water by one of the staff called Daavi that led to the death of Joseph on
October 2006 after both had received various degrees of injuries.
The orphanage has since been closed down.
