Fetish Priest charged with rape

Accra, Sept. 15, GNA - An Accra Circuit Tribunal on Friday remanded Yaw Dankwa, a fetish priest, in prison custody for allegedly forcibly having sex with a caterer when she solicited for his assistance to retrieve her lost money.

It was also alleged that the accused shaved the victim's armpit and private part before having sexual intercourse with her after he had made her drink some local gin. Dankwa, 40, whose plea was not taken, was charged with rape and will appear again on September 10.

Police Inspector Alex Yartey Tawiah told the tribunal, chaired by Mr Kwadwo Owusu, that on August 25, this year, the complainant who lives at Abeka in Accra lost 980,000 cedis after she had returned from a business trip to Takoradi. Inspector Tawiah said the complainant informed her husband but, as he could not do anything about it, she sought the assistance of the fetish priest.

The prosecutor said Dankwa requested the victim to purchase some needles, hooks, powder and a chameleon to enable him to perform a ritual to determine who stole the money. After making some rituals with the items, the prosecutor said, Dankwa informed the complainant that the money was stolen in her house.

The accused then told the victim that the ritual would cause the culprit to fall sick and that she must report any such incident to him. Inspector Tawiah said one Paulina Obeng, a co-tenant and the wife of a driver who brought her(caterer) from Takoradi, fell sick.

She, therefore, went to inform Dankwa who concluded that it was Paulina who stole the money. The prosecutor said the accused asked the complainant to buy some 'akpeteshie', a local drink, to enable him to pray on it for her to drink.

The prosecutor said she, however, initially refused on the grounds that she was not feeling well but she later took it after which she became drowsy and fell asleep. When she woke up, she noticed that her armpit and private parts had been shaved.

According to the prosecutor, the complainant also observed that she had been raped, adding that when she went to urinate, a round substance fell from her sexual organ. Inspector Tawiah said when the victim confronted Dankwa the following day, he admitted being responsible for what happened and apologised to her.

He, however, pleaded with her not to tell anyone. The prosecution said when the victim returned to her house, she experienced a severe stomachache and, therefore, informed her husband who accompanied her to make a report to the Women And Juvenile Unit of the Police Service.