Fetish priest remanded for raping a pregnant woman

Mpraeso(E/R), July 18, GNA - John Fiagbe, a 38-year-old fetish priest, has been reminded in police custody by the Mpraeso Circuit Court presided over by Mr Kwaku Osei for raping a pregnant woman in the bush.

He pleaded not guilty and would re-appear on August 16.

Police Detective Inspector Christian Tetteh Appronti said the accused was a fetish priest who lived at Zerkope, a village near Kwahu Tafo and the victim, 18 years old, lived at Agbatikope.

He said on January 15 the accused went to the village of the victim around 0900 hours and informed her, the mother and the father’s younger brother that the pregnancy of the victim was under a curse and that the unborn baby had been tied in her womb.

Inspector Appronti said the accused told them that until he performed some rituals to cleanse her, she could not give birth safely and if care was not taken she could die during labour.

He said the victim’s mother got frightened and told him that she had no money and she should be given sometime to find money for him to perform the cleansing.

Inspector Appronti told the court that the accused told the victim’s mother that she did not need money and that the only thing he needed for the rituals were maize flour, string, powder, bucket full of water and a bottle of akpeteshie.

He said after collecting the items, the accused escorted the victim to a nearby bush in a cassava farm with the view of cleansing her but raped her.

The accused then asked the victim to bath the bucketful of water which he had mixed with the maize flour.

The victim informed her mother about her ordeal and said the accused threatened to kill or let her go mad if she failed to let him have sex with her.

He said the accused was arrested by the villagers and taken to the Kwahu-Tafo police station.