Children demand step-mum’s blood

A GROUP of children who were angered by the callous behaviour of a middle-aged woman who nearly beat her four-year-old step son to death, yesterday refused to go to school and marched to the Tamale Police Station in a bid to get the woman released to them to face their wrath.

It took the police some time to persuade the children, whose show of solidarity for their colleague, was described as unprecedented, to leave for school.

Georgina Koranteng, the stepmother was granted bail after the children had left.

Georgina allegedly subjected Master Justice Koranteng to severe beating after refusing him food.

Master Koranteng sustained bruises on his face and the entire body. Not satisfied, Georgina was alleged to have smeared the boy's bruised and swollen face with ginger and locked him up in a room.

The little boy is said to have suffered several abuses from Georgina, wife of Mr George Koranteng, an engineer with the Department of Urban Roads in Tamale. The couple live with the boy at Vittin Estate, a suburb of Tamale.

It was the timely intervention of a Canadian, Mr Malvin Wright, who is doing his internship with Gariba Associates, development consultants, which saved the poor boy. The office shares a wall with the Korantengs’ residence.

In his statement to the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in Tamale, Wright stated that Justice had been coming to beg for food anytime he closed from school, because he was always denied food at home by the stepmother.

He said on Tuesday the boy came to tell him that he had been sacked from school because his father had refused to pay his school fees. On Wednesday when Wright did not see the boy at the office, he followed up to the school and was told that he did not come to school.

At the school, the teachers told Wright of the plight of Master Koranteng, who always reported for school in a state of sorrow, as a result of beating. He is described as a brilliant child and speaks good English.

Wright then reported the case to the CHRAJ office and the Social Welfare Department and personnel of the departments went to the Koranteng’s house and demanded to see the boy.

One of the daughters of Georgina, initially refused to bring the boy out because none of her parents was at home. When Master Koranteng, was finally brought out, the officers from CHRAJ had to rush him to the hospital upon seeing his condition.

When the boy was treated and discharged, Police Inspector Asuman volunteered to take care of him after the Social Welfare officer refused to take custody of him because of his condition.

The biological mother of Master Koranteng, Ms Comfort Owusu, who is resident at Kukuo, a suburb of Tamale, has since taken custody of her son.