Otiko condemns 'wicked' Bantama gang rape

The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisah Djaba has condemned the gang rape of a young girl in Bamtama, a suburb of the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi.

The minister said she was disappointed and sad over the wicked act of the young boys and the circulation of the video which exposes the girl to ridicule and stigmatisation.

“I take this opportunity to condemn in no uncertain terms, the rape incident involving a young girl which is going viral on social media,” Otiko said during the National Stakeholder Consultative Workshop to Validate the Draft Social Protection Policy Implementation Plan in Accra.

She added “I am very sad and feel disappointed that a young Ghanaian girl will suffer this wicked act from those young guys. This criminal and the law must deal with them”.

She urged the Police to arrest and prosecute the boys to serve as a deterrent to others.

The Police on Monday arrested three of the boys identified in the video which has gone viral.

According to the Ashanti Regional Police Command, the boys are Junior High School and Senior High School students.

The Public Relations Officer of the Ashanti Regional Police Command, ASP Juliana Obeng, at a media briefing on the incident on Monday, said the police had identified four accomplices who are currently at large.

“The command has arrested 3 suspects. The arrest of these suspects was made on Saturday, 16th December 2017 at their various homes at Bantama. The three suspects and their 4 accomplices who are currently at large are all students…two of the 3 arrested are in SHS 1 and the other in JHS 3,” she said.

The video has sparked massive outrage in the country with majority of Ghanaians calling on the Police to ensure that the boys are prosecuted.

The about five minutes video shows an underage girl pinned to a mattress by one of her abusers while his accomplices take turns to perform sexual acts on her.

The victim who was resisting her attackers all-through the ordeal was restrained from escaping by her abusers who appeared to be having fun with the torture.