Somanya 'Dipo' suspects to be put before court today

Fourteen out of the nineteen persons arrested by Somanya District Police Command for organizing puberty rite [Dipo] will be put before Somanya District Magistrate Court on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, according to the local Police.

They will be charged for violating the Imposition of Restriction Act 2020.

Somanya Police on Saturday, May 2, 2020, arrested a total of 19 persons including 5 Children for performing a traditional puberty rite known as Dipo at Sawer and Adjikpo, both suburbs of Somanya. The suspects were granted bail but the Minors were discharged.

The suspects arrested included Samuel Lawer Opata, 85, Tetteh Rebecca,70, Korkor Esther,45, Vivian Amish,45, Grace Tetteh, 40, Bernice Tetteh,38, Opata Mercy,35, Nartey Eunice, 40 and Lovelace Emmanuel Odonkor, 70. The rest are juveniles with ages ranging from 13 to 17 years.

According to the Somanya District Police Commander, DSP Isaac Kojo Otsin, Police received a tip-off that, some residents of Sawer, a suburb of Somanya, had gathered in a house performing puberty rites known as dipo, a gathering which is against the president’s restriction imposed on public gathering.

Police proceeded to the venue and arrested the organizers and participants of the traditional ritual.

“Dipo” is a very prominent cultural practice among Krobos mostly held between April and May for dozens of teenage Krobo girls every year.

Many girls partake in this event which lasts for a period of four days during which they spend most of their time in the Dipo house where the rites take place.

The rite among other things is to prevent teenage pregnancy and sexual promiscuity until girls were of age and ready to be married.

The Coronavirus pandemic which has triggered the imposition of restriction on public gathering will, therefore, disrupt this year’s spiritual exercise.