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The Ghana to London Drive : The woman’s story.
Day 1 (22nd /23rd): The Journey Begins
The airy Saturday morning was a combination of excitement and anticipation of the unknown terrain that lay ahead.
Were the cars prepped for the journey? Oh yes!. I will tell you about it later as we get deeper into the story
You all know how plans made in a group hardly moves from the chat to “we dey move” . Well not this one . Wanderlust GHANA was determined to make this happen and they sure did!
Meet up spot, BLAY Apartments(Oyarifa). I met Quincy for the first time . The youngest amongst the lot. His was a 10,000km road-trip to bond with his father , and I thought that was special. Mrs Peprah kept me company whiles the men were being men (lol). The $1 million in the room saga was trending so discussing it with her was a good distraction.
9:30am , took final photos . Husbands said their final goodbyes to wives and children. Time asooooo- time aso!
Let’s go!!!!!
We Drove to Dormaa Ahenkro so we connect to the mid entry point into Ivory . But 453km road that we should do in just a couple of hours, will take us having to stop at Eusbett Hotel and continue next day, SMH.
Eusbett was a lovely place. Food was good . Customer service on point. But they wouldn’t allow me to take pictures of the breakfast buffet which I found odd.
Oh we took some pictures and that’s one of the photos circulating. My white shoes meant I was still in Ghana. It changed colors as we moved from country to country.
In about 2 hours we got to Gonokrom, an exit town into Ivory Coast. Wait….. there was a need to stop and help one of the vehicles with a leak in one of his brake hoses. This one was a “national agenda” because the speed with which they squad got together to help was awesome. It was at that point I knew there was a lot Shecanic could learn from. This was my first introduction to Kwame Peprah. Oh my heart was immediately drawn to him. He got his hand dirty. Saka Homes brought his tool box and quickly went back to exercise ( that’s another story lol).
In just about 45 mins we had diagnosed, fixed the issue and was back on the road .
Gonokrom, Ghana’s border town to Ivory Coast was my first introduction to the concept of no man’s land where there is no law . You can do anything, anything at all and get away with it. I thought that was interesting.
At the border they asked for pass and license of all the vehicles, passports and yellow card. There was a heat sensor device to check our temperature. Not sure the purpose of it but I will give them an A for effort. Did they ask for Ghana card? No it was the passport the needed. Old school style of book keeping. Stamping the passports means there will be fewer pages for international visas . Why can’t the Ghana card be enough?!
After an hour of what should have been a a 10 minute session, we (passengers)were given back our document and was allowed to walk into Ivory Coast.
Did we pay any bribes? Well not at this port. Or if they did I was shielded.
The Journey is the destination!!!!
Writeup by: Shecanic, the only female who joined the trip from Accra to London by road
Ghana’s First Lady, Lordina Mahama, has made a generous donation to the country’s national female Under-17 and Under-20 teams – Black Maidens and Black Princesses- as they continue preparations for major international assignments.
The donation, made on Friday, May 22, was presented on behalf of the First Lady by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, at the GFA Technical Centre in Prampram.
The gesture forms part of efforts to motivate and support Ghana’s young female footballers as they prepare to represent the country on the international stage.
The donation included essential food items and toiletries aimed at supporting the welfare and well-being of the players and technical teams.
The donation included cartons of Milo, T-rolls, soft drinks, toiletries, and a range of essential supplies aimed at supporting the welfare of the players, enhancing camp conditions, and easing preparations ahead of their respective assignments.
The Black Maidens are currently engaged in preparations for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers and are set to take on Liberia women’s national under-17 football team in the second-leg encounter in Liberia this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Black Princesses have already secured qualification to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after overcoming Uganda in the qualifiers, extending Ghana’s remarkable record to eight consecutive appearances at the tournament.
The donation by the First Lady was expected to boost morale within both camps while reinforcing national support for the young female footballers who continue to make the country proud.
The prosecution has officially rested its case in The Republic v Solomon Asamoah & Another, the high-profile legal battle commonly referred to as the “Sky Train” case.
The Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai announced the development, praising the state’s team of hard-working prosecutors for successfully anchoring the state’s evidence before the High Court.
The criminal trial centers on the former Chief Executive Officer and the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
The duo stands accused of illegally authorizing and paying out US$2 million to a foreign company without obtaining board directives or other mandatory statutory approvals.
State investigators have confirmed that the disbursed millions cannot be found.
Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, the accused persons moved the court for an opportunity to file a submission of no case.
The presiding judge granted the application, ordering the defense to submit their arguments by June 8.
The outcome of the June 8 filings will decide the fate of the trial:
With this, if the judge finds the defense’s submission convincing, the accused will be acquitted and discharged however, If the judge dismisses the submission, the court will order the accused officials to take the stand and explain why they should not face prison sentences.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
