Day: March 9, 2023

Mr Adib Saani, a Security Analyst, says the Military and the Government must work towards restoring good military-civilian relationship at Ashaiman after soldiers stormed the community Tuesday and allegedly molested some people following the alleged murder of a military man there. He said it was important for the Government to diffuse any growing suspicions towards security agencies in the community and restore the broken-down military-civilian relationship caused by the invasion. ‘Government by now should have sent a delegation made up of security personnel to reassure residents that they still represent their interest because for now, there is deep suspicion in the area, and they will be hostile to security personnel whether the military or police. We need to give reassurances in that regard.’ Some military officers Tuesday undertook a reconnaissance maneuvering at Ashaiman with ground men, an armoured tank, and two helicopters to arrest persons they claimed were involved in the cold blood murder of a soldier on Sunday, March 05, 2023. The ‘search and arrest mission’ which started in the early hours of Tuesday, led to the entanglement with a section of the residents at Ashaiman enclave, especially at Newtown, Official Town, Valco Flat, and some parts of the Middle East, all in the Ashaiman Municipality In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Thursday, Mr Saani, also the Executive Director, Centre for Human Security and Peace Building, described the Military’s action as ‘illegal, horrendous, medieval, unacceptable in a democracy like ours’. He said it was not in the domain of Military under any law in the country to go on such a mission without the Police, adding that, even if the Military was involved in an interior matter, the Police would always have to be the ones taking the lead. The Security Analyst said Ghana’s Military was one of the most respected in the world due to their contributions to several peace keeping missions and that such actions only created suspicions and negated the Military’s progress in harnessing its relationship with citizens over the years. He said the Military could not operate without citizens’ support, consent, approval and cooperation, and that a marred relationship would negatively affect the fulfilment of its mandate. Mr Saani said the invasion could make the Military a target to some criminal elements who might want to ride on the back of the tensions in that area and warned that care must be taken to avoid such incidents. ‘What it also means is that if someone is identified as a soldier isolated in any part of the Ashaiman area, the person could become a target and that would make things worse,’ he said. He said the soldiers who took part in the invasion should be punished to serve as deterrence. ‘Some persons must be made to pay for this act. An apology or statement is not enough. This has to stop! We are a country governed by rules of law and so the laws would have to be applied. Also, for the lynchings to stop, we need to deal with the fundamental issues and not galvanise Military hardware and human resources to go and intimidate innocent people,’ he added. Mr Saani said the delays in trial of criminal cases had waned public trust in the justice system for which reason people were going for instant justice. ‘…Cases like Major Mahama’s are still in court and have dragged for too long. When it happens this way, it motivates people to take matters into their own hands and develop a mob mentality because they know the court system would not favour them. The issue of criminal investigations and how swiftly they are carried out is also something that must be considered. The approach should be scientific, and intelligence based,’ he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The Aya Institute has called on government, international development partners, academic institutions, business support entities, CSOs and stakeholders to recognise the instrumental role that digital technologies play in breaking barriers. It said the country must also harness digital technology to advance gender equality, saying, improved digital structures in education, health, business, and general day to day transactions in different aspects of our lives would expand women’s lives and opportunities and bring them closer to better living standards. In its International Women’s Day message, the Institute in a release said this year’s theme ‘Digital: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality’ was significant because it had in the last decade, witnessed new ways of using digital technology to break barriers and closed the various inequality gaps. It said increasing access to digital technology for women had rippling impact on their businesses and the management of their homes and community through the access to information and data. ‘Some women are better able to balance the conflicting demands of work and family through the flexibility and enablement of digital platforms, and so we advocate access in digital technology through the provision of infrastructure, a safe space for women who use digital technology for several uses since it will go a long way to achieve gender equality. ‘ The institute noted that, Ghana had made significant gains especially in the training and recognition of women in Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Innovation through the ‘Girls in ICT’ initiative by the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization. ‘This initiative is laudable as it recognises young girls excelling in this area and encourages other school girls to participate in this initiative thereby having a better representation ultimately.’ The release said despite the historical and current challenges that women face, women have been consistent in making strides towards their varied goals in life, amidst surviving the barriers and becoming inspirational to other women. ‘On this day, we celebrate individual women and pro-gender organizations alike who keep working towards achieving a gender-responsive society through individual and corporate efforts.’

Source: Ghana News Agency

An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail to an entrepreneur, who allegedly took GH?100,000.00 from a businesswoman under the pretext of importing a 40-footer container of second-hand home appliances from Germany but failed. Madam Annabel Osei, charged with conspiracy to commit crime and defrauding by false pretense, pleaded not guilty. The prosecutor, Police Chief Inspector Benson Benneh, did not oppose bail application made by the counsel for the accused person, but said the Court should grant the accused person bail that would compel her to appear before Court at any time. He said, ‘the accused person does not have a fixed place of abode because she took the police to a wooden structure where she lives’. The Court presided over by Mrs Evelyn Asamoah, therefore, admitted the accused person to bail in the sum GH?200,000.00 with three sureties. The Court directed that one of the sureties should be a civil servant. The prosecution was also directed by the Court to file and serve all disclosures and witness statements. Meanwhile, her accomplice, Mr Kwaku Boadi, who is the father of the accused person, is currently at large. The matter has been adjourned to April 12, 2023. The prosecution told the Court that the complainant Madam Margaret Nelson Coffie was a businesswoman while Madam Osei resided at Awoshie in?Accra. The prosecution said about six months ago, one Rita Pokuaa, a witness in the case, introduced Osei, and her father to the complainant as an importer, who imported goods from Germany to Ghana. It said the accused person and her father convince the complainant that if she could pay GH?150,000.00 to them, they could supply her a 40-footer-container of second-hand home appliances such as microwaves, blenders, television sets, rice cookers, kettles etc. from Germany. The prosecution said in the process, the accused person and her father collected a cash sum of GH?100,000.00 from the complainant through the accused person’s ADB’s Bank accounts with a promise of delivering the said goods within two weeks. It said the accused persons after collecting the said amount, went into hiding and all efforts made by the complainant to trace their whereabouts were not successful and on November 30, 2022, a complaint was made to the Police. The prosecution said a month later, the accused person was arrested and in her cautioned statement, she admitted the offence and refunded GH?20,000.00 to the Police and same handed over to the complainant.

Source: Ghana News Agency

An exhibition of paintings and wearable art displaying the works of Akwele Suma Glory and Adwowa Ammah-Tagoe, both members of the Women Arts Institute Africa (WAiA) has been opened in Accra. The exhibition, which would end on March 16, 2023, is on the theme: ‘Forward to the Past,’ and was jointly opened by Professor Esi Sutherland Addy, an Educationist and a writer and Dr Selasi Sosu, a Lecturer at the University of Education and a member of the WAiA. Prof Esi Addy speaking on theme, said the past was the summary of the lives that had lived, the lessons learnt, and the progress made and called on Africans to refrain from disregarding the past so that they could build on what had been done. She said: ‘Other cultures put value on what had been built thousands of years ago. The people engage with their monuments, creative works, and institutions, integrating them into their lives.’ Prof Esi Addy expressed happiness that the art works were contributing to the heritage of the African, saying; ‘that is important for the African to be interested in acquiring and preserving its creative products.’ On her part Dr Sosu said the exhibition would encourage her and other artists to continue practising despite the many challenges like cost of materials, labour, equipment among other things. ‘I am motivated as an artist and hope that the exhibition opens new doors for more showcase of women’s creative works,’ she stated. Mrs Mawusi Nudekor Awitty, an avid bead collector called on Ghanaians to invest in women’s work by buying their products to help keep artists employed and urged ministries, departments, and agencies to display works of arts created by Ghanaians. In the exhibition, forward to the Past, the artists employ the technique of freestyle creation to capture the symbols of connections that lead them forward to the past. Asserting that the present does not exist, but it is a mere bridge between the past and the future, which are the only cardinal poles of existence. Akwele and Adwowa’s work explores the ability of cultural traditions to re-invent itself in the face of change and challenges to preserve its relevance. The two artists found inspiration and passion by connecting to the past to boost their energy to move forward.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A 35-year-old man who allegedly abused his 15-year-old daughter sexually and claims the act ‘is a tradition’ has been put before a Gender Based Violence Court at the Police Headquarters in Accra. Bless Gatogo, alleged to have abused his daughter on three occasions at Okushiebiade, near Amasaman in the Greater Accra Region, has been charged with incest and defilement. The accused person has denied the charges. The court presided over by Mrs Dora Eshun has admitted Gatogo to bail in the sum of GHC20,000 with two sureties who are to be known by the Police. The court has adjourned the matter to March 27 for the case management conference. Chief Inspector Simon Tekpor said the victim was a 15-year-old JHS two pupil while the accused was a mason and the biological father of the victim. The prosecution said the victim resided with the father (accused) and her stepmother and that in 2022, the victim’s stepmother travelled for a funeral leaving the accused person and the victim alone in the house. It said the next day at about 0500 hours, while the accused person and the victim were alone in a room, the accused person allegedly with a cane, ordered the victim to undress. The prosecution said out of fear, the victim obliged, and the accused person forcibly had sexual intercourse with her on a blanket spread on the floor, allegedly. It said on October 20, 2022, the victim’s stepmother travelled again and at about 0400 hours, while the victim and her younger brother were asleep in the room, the accused allegedly went into the room and had sexual intercourse with her. In November 2022, the prosecution said Gatogo travelled with the victim to a village known as Sanga in the Volta Region and the same day at night, he allegedly lured the victim into a room and had sex with her for the third time. It said the next day, when the victim and the accused person had returned home, he allegedly told the victim that ‘it is tradition for him to be having sexual intercourse with her’. According to the prosecution, on January 19, 2023, the victim confided in her teacher who was also a Girl-Child Coordinator. The prosecution said on February 6, 2023, the Coordinator brought the victim to the Amasaman DOVVSU and reported the matter and on February 13, 2023, Gatogo was arrested.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The 80th anniversary of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews from the death camps was commemorated with rallies, a minute of silence and the laying of wreaths at monuments throughout the country. The salvation of the Jews in Bulgaria is a remarkable, exceptional phenomenon, the Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR) Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, Dr Laurence Weinbaum, said in a lecture on dignity in the face of indifference and moral decadence at the international conference an international conference on ‘The Role of Jurists for the Salvation of the Bulgarian Jews,’ held in Sofia on Thursday. The salvation of the Bulgarian Jews was a civil society initiative, Weinbaum recalled. According to him, Bulgarians are rightly proud of this. We cannot discuss in detail the biographies of 28,000 people, but if one leafs through them quickly, one will see that these rescuers were from different parties, and different walks of life in society, they did not have a single unifying factor, people were quite different, Dr Weinbaum added. ‘We should all follow the light which Bulgaria emitted during World War II, it is the light that should guide us,’ Israeli Ambassador in Sofia Yoram Elron said at the conference’s opening. Ambassador Elron said Bulgaria stood up against the forces of evil during World War II and became the only country in which the number of Jews was larger after the war than before the war. He noted the important role of the Church, politicians, law professionals and ordinary citizens in rescuing the Bulgarian Jews. But he added that the 11,000-plus Jews in the Bulgarian-administrated regions of Western Thrace and Vardar Macedonia, who were not saved, should not be forgotten either. ‘Eighty years after the events of 1943, it is with particular anguish that we recall the tragic fate of 11,343 Jews who were not Bulgarian citizens and then resided in parts of the then Yugoslavia and Northern Greece, whom the local Bulgarian administration was unable to save. We deeply moan those innocent Holocaust victims and will never forget them,’ Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov said, addressing the opening of the conference. Not enough is known about the bright example of Bulgaria, which saved its Jews, Vice President Iliana Iotova said addressing the conference ‘The Jurists’ Role in Saving Bulgarian Jews’. According to her, various experts, specialists and historians should do a lot of research into the facts so that it could be known for sure what happened in those dark months in late 1942 and early 1943. Eighty years ago, Bulgaria succeeded in saving 48,000 Jews. This unprecedented act recorded one of the brightest pages not only in Bulgarian but in world history, the Vice President said. She noted that in other European countries, there were individual acts, certain people, who managed to save thousands of Jews, but what was different in Bulgaria was that the entire Bulgarian public rose against the deportation, and the individual representatives, whose names are known, expressed the opinion not only of the public but also of institutions. The forum is co-organized by the Bulgarian foreign and culture ministries, the Israeli Embassy in Sofia, the Association of Prosecutors in Bulgaria, the Chamber of Investigators in Bulgaria, and the Federation of Zionists in Bulgaria. The initiative is part of the National Programme for Marking the 80th Anniversary of the Salvation of the Bulgarian Jews during World War II and is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture.

Source: Ghana News Agency

An Accra High Court hearing the murder case of the Kasoa Teenagers has asked an ‘absentee juror’ to appear in court or face arrest. The court gave the order after it had been informed that the juror, a staff of the Department of Social Welfare, had abandoned the trial and had also informed the court of his intent. But the trial Judge, Mrs Justice Lydia Osei Marfo said the court had no such letter from him and asked him to appear before it on March 13, 2023, or face a warrant for arrest. ‘Let him (juror) come or I will issue a bench warrant for his arrest, he cannot take the court for granted or hold the court to ransom. This is a constitutional duty,’ the judge said. The court had chosen today, Thursday, to start the trial with the State calling its first prosecution witness before the seven-member jury. The absence of the juror meant the court would have to empanel a new set of jury and start the processes all over. When the case was called, the foreman of the jury informed it that they were six in number instead of seven. According to the foreman, a juror had informed him that he had travelled and that he would not take part in the trial. The foreman said although the juror had informed him on WhatsApp voice mail, the said juror had not been able to furnish him with a copy of the letter he said he had written to the court. The trial judge said she was not going to start the trial from scratch, adding the juror ‘ought to come back unless he is dead’. ‘By Court, as of December 19, 2022, just before I proceeded on my annual leave, this court and parties involved, including defence counsels, jurors, State lawyers agreed on firm dates from March 7 to April 20, 2023, to commence trial so, he must come back.’ The court said ‘there is no such letter from him to that effect. He should know that he is duty bound from the beginning to the end of the trial. He can’t afford to sit in his office and issue orders to the court.’ The two teenagers are facing charges of conspiracy and murder. They are accused of killing Mensah Abdallah on April 3, 2021, for alleged ritual purposes. The young offenders allegedly lured the deceased aged 11, into an uncompleted building and killed him with a club and cement block at Kasoa.

Source: Ghana News Agency

The role of traditional authorities in protecting the rights and welfare of women in our communities cannot be over emphasised, Mrs Thywill Eyra Kpe, Volta Regional Director of the Department of Gender, has noted. She said the discrimination, stereotypes and violence perpetrated against women and girls were carried out under the guise of culture and traditions, hence traditional authorities who were the custodian of culture and traditions should help address the problem. The Director said the pressing for gender equality ‘means we must begin to abolish or modify some of these practices that continue to subjugate women and prevent them from achieving their full potentials.’ Mrs Kpe, speaking at the celebration of this year’s International Women’s Day-Tech Forum and Fair in Ho, said it was important for all to continue to recognise the important roles women played for the development of society and supported?them. She commended women in the country as they ‘have and are making valuable contributions in both the formal and informal sectors of Ghana’s economy.’ Dr Ernestina Korleki Tetteh, Projects Manager, STAR- GHANA Foundation, lauded the efforts of the Department of Gender in the region in championing the rights and welfare of women and girls. She said STAR- GHANA Foundation was?delighted to collaborate with the Department of Gender of Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection in the Volta Region to commemorate the Day. Dr Tetteh said the STAR-Ghana Foundation embraced Gender Equality in all its forms and firmly demonstrated their commitment to this through comprehensive Gender Equality and Social Inclusion plan that guided all their operations and partnerships. She said the theme: ‘DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,’ was apt as it aimed to recognise and celebrate women and girls, who were championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education. ‘This is so well suited and well deserving because these women ventured in to ‘previously’ male dominated fields and possessed it, blazing the trail for present and future generations that this is indeed possible.’

Source: Ghana News Agency