Otiko angered by Bantama gang-rape; calls for incarceration of culprits

The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection has condemned the gang rape incident which occurred at Bantama in the Ashanti Region last Friday.

Madam Otiko Afisah Djaba said the act that was captured on video and has been circulating on social media is “wicked” and has, therefore, called for the law to deal with the young boys who perpetrated the act.

“I am very sad and feel disappointed that a young Ghanaian girl will suffer this wicked act from those young guys,” the minister said while speaking at the National Stakeholder Consultative Workshop in Accra.

Urging the police to do their best to arrest the other teenagers who are on the run, she called on security agencies to enforce the law in the matter that has enraged most Ghanaians.

“This is criminal and the law must deal with them,” she stressed while calling for a concerted efforts of Ghanaians regardless of their gender to fight the issues of rape and all sort of assault against women in the country.

Prosecution

Meanwhile, a human rights lawyer, Edmund Foley has called on the victim’s parents to seek for a professional assistance to get the girl out of the trauma she may be going through after the rape.

The law lecturer further charged the departments of Social Welfare and Community Development to support the young girl with counseling to avoid a future vengeance from her or her family which may not auger well for the community.

Speaking on the Morning Xpress on Tuesday, he bemoaned the lack of support for victims of crimes in Ghana, and said: “the young girl needs a psycho-social support. The family should be bold enough and not to keep her indoors. . . The girl needs justice. This can shatter her for the rest of her life but we can repair that.”

Calling for the laws to work get the culprits punished, he observed that there was a forced carnal knowledge and that makes it an offence irrespective of the age of the actors, maintaining that there is no way the perpetrators will go free even if they are judged according to the Juvenile Justice Act.

“To my objective mind, if I look at what I saw on the video, there was penetration of her private parts. The young lady was fighting, obviously it was against her consent and that in my humble opinion should be enough to ground an action for rape,” the lawyer told Prince Minkah, host of the Morning Xpress.

Mr. Foley also encouraged the media to to keenly follow and give coverage to the matter to ensure justice for the victim while they protect the image of the all involved in it.

Arrests

The Ashanti Regional Police Command on Monday, December 18, 2017, arrested three (3) of the suspects who they claim are seven (7).

ASP Juliana Obeng, the Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) in a press briefing said the three suspects who were arrested and their four accomplices who are currently at large are all students.

“Two of the three arrested are in SHS 1 and the other in JHS 3. All 3 suspects are currently in police custody assisting in investigations whiles efforts are being made to arrest the other 4,”she said.

She also sent a “strong warning” to those in possession of the video and those circulating it to desist from it since it is an offence for one to do so.

The three suspects who are in police grips are being processed to court.