L' Observateur Burundi

The Ashaiman Circuit Court has remanded Stephen Nartey a 39-year-old mason, into police custody for stabbing his pregnant fiancée, Miss Charity Osoom, in the abdomen, right hand, and right breast with a knife.

The court presided over by Mr. Simon Gaga remanded Nartey, whose plea was not taken for the charge of causing harm.

Police Chief Inspector Christian Oscar Norgbedzi, presenting the facts to the court, said the 38-year-old victim is a caterer who resides at Ashiaman Newtown, whiles the accused person also stays at old Ashaiman-Tulaku.

He said on March 21, 2024, at about 1700 hours, the Ashaiman Divisional Command, received a distress call from one ‘Freedom’ making a complaint that a pregnant woman had been stabbed at Ashaiman-Middle East near Pleasant Medical Centre.

He said the police proceeded to the scene, and with the assistance of some good Samaritans, the victim was sent to Pleasant Medical Centre for treatment and later referred to the Tema General Hospital, where she is still receiving medica
l care.

The prosecution said her condition became stable, while investigations established that she was six months pregnant and resided with Nartey as his fiancée at Tulaku.

The prosecution said on March 18, 2024, the victim moved to stay with her grandmother at Ashaiman-Newtown due to the abusive conduct of the accused person.

He said on March 21, 2024, when she had closed from work and was on her way home, she met Nartey near a big gutter in the Ashaiman-Middle East, Pleasant Medical Centre area.

He said a misunderstanding ensued between them during which the accused person pulled out a knife from his clothing and stab her two times on the right breast, right hand, and abdomen.

According to the prosecution, she sustained deep cuts on her abdomen and started bleeding from the stabbing, while Nartey fled upon seeing the wounds, but the victim raised an alarm, and he was arrested by people who went to her aid.

The prosecution said the knife used for the stabbing was retrieved by police when they visited
the scene, adding that, investigations were still ongoing.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Women at Gwira-Dominasi in the Nzema East Municipality of the Western Region are struggling over the lack of potable water for their domestic and commercial chores.

They said the only source of water in the community was the River Ankobra, which had been heavily polluted because of illegal mining activities, popularly known as ‘galamsey’ around that enclave.

According to them, they spent a lot of money to purchase aluminum sulfate to treat water fetched from the polluted river before using it to cook.

The situation, they said, posed a serious threat to sanitation and hygiene practices, and ultimately the health needs of community members.

Madam Efya Racheal Williams, a resident, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the only borehole in the area had broken down for some time now, resulting in the water challenge.

‘Our borehole has broken down for a period of time now, so we have no option than to rely on the dirty water from the river Ankobra for our homes and food vending businesses.’

I
f the issue was not resolved, it could bring health complications to the residents as they kept consuming harmful chemicals used in the galamsey operations, she said.

Madam Williams, therefore, appealed to the authorities to urgently take steps to provide a robust water supply system for the community to help reduce the burden on residents in search of clean water.

‘We are appealing to our leaders to come to our aid and provide a source of clean water for us, because we struggle to even buy the alum to purify the polluted water from the Ankobra river,’ she added.

Meanwhile, a source at the Western Regional Office of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) said records showed that the community had a water system to supply residents with clean water.

It said the community leadership was responsible for the management of the system in the area, which broke down.

However, the office would initiate plans to repair the system to serve its intended purpose.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A day’s stakeholder engagement to increase the knowledge and resilience of small holder farmers on climate change adaptation has been held at Tolon in the Northern Region.

The engagement which brought together young small-scale farmers in the Tolon District including persons with disabilities (PwDs), was to build the capacity of participants to adopt climate smart agricultural practices that would ensure high crop yields and also safeguard the environment.

It formed part of the implementation of the first phase of a nine-month project being implemented by Ghana Youth Guide, an NGO, with funding support from DIB Denmark and the Civil Society in Development, also in Denmark.

The project dubbed: ‘Strengthening Ghanaian Youth through Climate Smart Agriculture and Civic Organizing (SGY – CSACO)’ is being implemented in the Savelugu and Tolon Districts and seeks to benefit about 50 young small-scale farmers including PwDs.

The engagement meeting was held under the theme: ‘The Role of Women in Agricultural Devel
opment in Ghana’.

Mr Chentiwuni Salifu Abdul-Fataw, Executive Director, Ghana Youth Guide and Project Coordinator of SGY – CSACO, speaking during the meeting, said it was to dialogue with key stakeholders in the district including religious and other traditional authorities on the need to adopt some improved agricultural practices that were crucial towards ensuring maximum food production.

He said it was also to share knowledge on some of the best agricultural practices such as using approved and certified seeds, land preparation and planting to help minimise post-harvest losses usually recorded among small scale farmers in the area.

He called on traditional authorities to prioritise allocating fertile farmlands for women small holder farmers to enable them to contribute their quota towards the overall food security drive of the country as well as help to reduce poverty and deprivation among women and other vulnerable groups.

Mr Basit Zakari, Director, Department of Agriculture, Tolon District Director, s
aid climate change had adversely influenced rainfall patterns in the area, hence the need for farmers to adopt smart agricultural approaches to sustain food production.

He said the need for appropriate and approved land preparations, urging small scale farmers to desist from frequent use of tractors to plough their lands and said it contributed to loss of soil fertility.

He urged farmers to desist from the abuse of agro-chemicals on their lands and help preserve the environment for effective agricultural activities.

Tolon-Naa Sulemana Abubakari, Paramount Chief of Tolon Traditional Area, who was represented at the meeting, said there was already an established land tenure system in the area, which supported mutual agricultural activities without any litigation.

Mr Alhassan Emmanuel Bawa, Acting Tolon District Director, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, said climate change had ripple effects on the rights of women and other vulnerable groups.

Source: Ghana News Agency

A Ho Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Felix Datsomor, has sentenced Sergeant Emmanuel Dua for defiling a 14-year-old girl at Ave-Xevi in the Akatsi North District of the Volta Region.

The incident that occurred in September 2021 found the 47-year-old Sergeant Dua, who was on duty at a Police barrier at Ave-Xevi, guilty after he forcefully lured the young victim into a room and defiled her.

Ms Enyonam Letsa, an Assistant State Attorney, prosecuting, told the court that at about 1530 hours on the said date, the victim went to fetch rain water from a basin near the newly constructed Police post, which was not far from their house.

She said the convict took advantage of the vulnerability of the victim and lured her into the room and forcefully defiled her.

She said after several attempts to know the whereabouts of victim, she finally emerged from a nearby cassava farm around 1745 hours.

The victim, after narrating her ordeal to her aunty, formally lodged a complaint at the Ave-Dakpa Police station, where t
hey were given a medical form to visit the hospital for proper examination and treatment.

Sergeant Dua was later arrested but was granted a Police inquiry bail in a sum of Gh?50,000 with two sureties.

It was also revealed that the victim, upon interrogation, led a police investigative team to the crime scene on October 12, where she demonstrated how the accused officer forcibly defiled her on the bare floor at Ave-Xevi.

Duah, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges leveled against him during a court appearance that commenced in February 2023.

The Ho Circuit Court during a sitting on Tuesday, March 26, after a full trial, found the convict guilty of the charges leveled against him and consequently convicted him to a 12-year jail term in hard labour.

Source: Ghana News Agency