Couple petitions Foreign Minister over alleged sexual harassment

A former Ghanaian consular officer to Russia, Inusah Abdul-Basit, may soon find himself in a tight corner following an abusive representation and ‘false’ testimony he allegedly gave against a Ghanaian couple residing in Russia which resulted in their imprisonment.

The couple, Peter Boamah and Gifty Agyeman, in a petition addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hannah Tetteh, claim that acting on the directives of the Consular; they found themselves in the grip of the Russian police for no apparent reason.


The couple suspect that Inusah’s actions were as a result of a failed pass he made at Peter Boamah’s wife Gifty. “All of this had to do with the fact that my lady once refused him sex in his office when she went to the embassy for a consular SPRAVKA assistance”.


Narrating their ordeal in the petition dated December 3, 2013, the couple said “While the Russian authorities including the judge felt there was no solid case against us over the alleged abuse of a young lady who lived with us, the consular officer with a vindictive agenda misled the court by telling the judge in our presence that Ghana’s president (late Prez. Mills) and ambassador to Russia Dr. Seth Koranteng had sent him to tell the judge that the presidency wanted us imprisoned in Russia,” the couple revealed in their petition.


The directive to have them imprisoned in Russia, according to the couple, was after they had been “tricked” to sign a discharge document that they had been freed. But unknown to them, the document they were cajoled to sign was a self-confession to the crime in Russian language.


The document was later presented to the court as evidence.

Recounting the ordeal Inusah meted out to them, Peter mentioned how Inusah had abused the rights and dignity of his wife. He noted that “our consular officer insisted my wife changed her bled menstrual pads in his presence”. This was after he had seized her phones and warned her not to call any family member in Ghana, said Mr. Boamah.


“We suffered a lot in the Russian jail. A letter we wrote to the Ghana embassy for help was returned to us with rejection stamps,” Peter further claimed. The greatest shock, according to Peter Boamah and his wife was when they, after a year of their release, realized the ambassador was not in the know of their trial and imprisonment in Russia.


After meeting the ambassador recently, the couple received the shock of their lives when the ambassador told them he had never heard of their case although he was in Russia at the time Inusah Basit went to court to testify the falsity against them.


The petition to the minister therefore is to humbly request the ministry to investigate the offer and also to call Inusah Basit, a lawyer himself and awaiting his next diplomatic posting, to order.


Attempts by this paper to reach the former consular officer for his side of the story however hit on a snag.