News
Absence of ‘Fellow Ghanaians’ affecting sale of nose masks
Some nose masks sellers in the Tema West Municipality of the Greater Accra Region have complained of low sales because it has been a while the President addressed the nation on the Coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking in separate interviews with The Spectator, they claimed that the public did not seem interested in wearing the nose masks any longer.
It is, therefore, common to walk through the community and see many people walking, doing business or in vehicles without their nose masks.
One of the sellers, Madam Mercy Abena Boatemaa disclosed that sales soared anytime the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo addressed the nation on the COVID-19 situation.
The-45-year old who spends at least ten hours a day selling nose masks by the dusty road of the Adjei Kojo Market said she was introduced to the business by a friend who gave her an amount of Ghc100 as seed capital to improve her life and that of her children.
She said she had been advocating constantly that people wore their masks always especially when they were in public not because she wanted to make profit but because she felt it was important to protect oneself and his or her entire community.
She said sometimes, she felt compelled to give free nose masks to some people who passed by without wearing them as she saw such persons as a danger to everyone because one could not tell when his or her path would cross with infected people.
The native of Kumasi Tsrede said she purchased her products from the Central Business District of Accra.
Ms Boatemaa said she was unhappy that some traders sold inferior nose masks to unsuspecting members of the public describing it as an exercise that seriously compromised public health and also increased people’s chances of getting infected.
She said she had vowed to rather sell quality masks which suppressed the transmission of the virus because she felt obliged to do the society more good than harm.
She called on the public to take the safety precautions of COVID-19 but not hide behind the excuse that it was an inconvenience to wear the nose maks because these were not normal times.
Another nose mask seller, Mrs. Adjeley Lartey said some members of the public were of the view that the virus was no longer harmful so there was no point in continuing to wear the masks.
She said someone even told her that because many people had vaccinated, they were protecting those who had not taken the jab.
She said such unhealthy attituded was killing their business because she could go a whole day without even selling two boxes of the nose masks.
Ms. Lartey called on the President to continue updating the nation to let the public know that the virus was not gone as some Ghanaians thought.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Adjei Kojo.
A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour by the Bekwai Circuit Court for his role in a 2022 robbery at a mining site at Manso Akwasiso in the Ashanti South Region.
The convict, Dominic Ofori, also known as Fanta, was arrested on 16th February 2026 after years on the run. He pleaded guilty before the Bekwai Circuit Court to robbery contrary to Section 149 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 Act 29, and was accordingly sentenced to 25 years imprisonment with hard labour.
On March 20, 2022, the Manso Adubia District Police received intelligence that a group of armed men from Manso Abodom were planning to attack a mining site at Manso Akwasiso to rob the owner of gold concentrate. Acting on the information, police mounted a coordinated operation and laid an ambush at the site.
At about 5:30 pm the same day, four-armed men arrived at the site, fired indiscriminately, and robbed the miners of their gold concentrate. The police team on surveillance intervened, resulting in an exchange of gunfire.
Three of the suspects, Abu Abubakar, Musah Latif, and Gideon Takyi, sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead on arrival at St Martins Catholic Hospital at Agroyesum. Dominic Ofori escaped at the time but was later arrested and put before the court.
The Ashanti South Regional Police Command has assured the public of its continued commitment to combating violent crimes and bringing offenders to justice.
The Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested 45-year-old Isaac Boafo, also known as “Duabo King,” for allegedly publishing false news intended to cause fear and panic.
Police said the arrest follows a viral TikTok video in which Boafo claimed that four officers at the Central Police Station in Kumasi engaged in inappropriate conduct with commercial sex workers during night patrols in Asafo.
Officers from the Police Intelligence Directorate (Ashanti Region) apprehended Boafo after receiving intelligence about the video.
During questioning, he admitted to creating the video to attract views and engagement online, and acknowledged that he could not prove the allegations.
Boafo also admitted making comments about the President of the Republic for content purposes and could not defend those statements.
He has been formally charged and is in detention as investigations continue.
The Ashanti Regional Police have warned the public against publishing or sharing false information on social media, noting that such acts can cause fear, panic, and damage reputations.
They said anyone found engaging in similar conduct will face legal action.
By: Jacob Aggrey
