The Mirror carries that a 43-year-old queenmother who stood her grounds and resisted the usurpation of a royal stool has been allegedly raped by two members of a gang of hired thugs.
The thugs who carried out the indecent act were allegedly under the instructions of one Kwao Bediako, who saw the queenmother as an obstacle to his ambition. The queenmother had been living in exile since the dastardly act until last weekend when she returned to the town.
A police source, which disclosed this to the paper, said there had been a long standing grudge between Bediako and the queenmother because she had refused to give her consent to his intentions to be installed as a chief on one of the royal stools at Awutu Bawjiase.
The source said on Saturday, October 13, shortly after the queenmother had emerged from the bathroom with only a cover cloth on, the hired thugs, numbering about 17, attacked and started assaulting her.
The source said the group, armed with axes, clubs, and locally-made pistols, told her they were working under the instructions of Bediako who had hired them to kill her.
The source said the queenmother was dragged out of her room naked and forced into one of the cars, which were used in the operation and driven away to an undisclosed destination.
The police source said about 12 kilometres from the town, at Abodwese Nkwanta near Krodua on the Bawjiase-Kasoa road, the gang stopped and dragged the queenmother out of the car and alleged raped her.
She was only saved by an on-coming vehicle, which made the gang to flee into the bush leaving the queenmother to her fate.
The source said some good-spirited persons went to her aid and assisted her to make a report to the Bawjiase Police who gave her a medical form to see a doctor. The case has been slated for hearing at the Agona Swedru Circuit Tribunal on November 21.
When The Mirror met the queenmother last weekend, she confirmed her ordeal and said all the members of the 17-man gang could not have their turns "because they were overwhelmed and started struggling among themselves over who should have his turn first. In the process only two of them managed to rape me until I was saved by an on-coming vehicle."
