Child Rights International (CRI) is demanding the whereabouts of a 12-year-old boy who was arrested in connection with the murder of Major Maxwell Adam Mahama.
The boy was arrested at Manso Nkwanta days after the senior military officer was lynched by a mob at Denkyira-Obuasi on May 29.
According to the Executive Director of Child Rights International, Mr. Bright Appiah, his investigations indicated that the said boy has not been placed under the Juvenile Justice System, a contravention of the law on juvenile trial.
Addressing the media in Accra on Tuesday, Mr. Appiah asked the government and the security agencies to reveal the whereabouts of the boy, adding that even if the boy was involved in the act, the law does not permit the police or the government to place him in the same police custody with adults.
He also admonished the general public to desist from circulating the pictures of the late major and his family, particularly those that have the images of the children, as it infringes on the children’s right, and may create psychological problems for them in future.
He also pleaded with the government to try as much as possible to block all the videos, relative to the late major’s murder trending on social media.
Mr. Appiah further pleaded with the government to devise a policy, purposely to help the children of all the arrested suspects, and also take them through some rehabilitation process to enable them overcome any psychological trauma they may be facing due to the arrest of their parents.
The child rights activist, however, lauded the President for the fund set up to support the children of the late Major Maxwel Mahama.