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Couple jailed for human trafficking
A 40-year-old fishmonger and her 63-year-old fiance (boyfriend) a fisherman, have been convicted and jailed by a Ho High Court for child trafficking.
The fishmonger, Madam Aku Kedevi would spend 10 years in prison whist her boyfriend, Mr. Michael Boti would also spend eight years behind bars.
The convicts are said to have earned a “lot of income” from their illegal business of trafficking children aged between nine and 16 years from one village to another in the Volta Region and “rented” them out to engage in fishing and selling of fish to the detriment of their education.
Though they pleaded not guilty to the offences of conspiracy and human trafficking, the court presided by Mr Justice Eric Baah, a Supervising High Court Judge, found their conduct quite reprehensible and jailed them accordingly after a full trial.
The court again ordered Madam Kedevi and Mr Boti (convicts) to pay GH¢ 5,000.00 to each of the nine victims (children) for subjecting them to inhuman treatment and also denying them their right to education.
The arrest of the two lovebirds stemmed from a phone call by one of the trafficked children who was sent to take a mobile phone to someone in the community and took advantage of the errand to call his aunt at Wegbe and narrated the ordeal he and his younger brother of nine years were going through leading to their rescue.
A State Attorney, Mr Andrews D. Adugu told the court that Madam Kedevi and Mr. Boti were residents of Kpoviedzi and Akpokiife island respectively who, between 2015 and 2017 succeeded in trafficking nine children including a Nigerian and two girls from their homes to locations far away to work on the Volta Lake and outside the lake.
According to the State Prosecutor, the convicts exploited the children by collecting huge sums of money from some fishermen and fishmongers before releasing the children to work for them on and outside the Volta Lake.
Mr Adugu, said that in one instance, Madam Kedevi convinced the uncle of a 15-year-old boy who was attending school at Wegbe, near Hohoe, to allow him to come and spend his holidays with her at Ehi in the Ketu North District.
The prosecution said that Kedevi then took the boy to Ehi for some days before transporting him to Boti at Akpoklikofe, near Kete-Krachi, under the pretext of buying text books for him but instead collected an amount of GH¢ 4,000.00 from Boti under an agreement that the boy would work for him for five years.
The prosecution stated that after collecting the money, Kedevi then sneaked out, leaving the boy behind. The next day, the victim was forced into fishing and worked on daily basis for three years.
As if that was not enough, Madam Kedevi later brought the nine-year-old brother of the victim to the same place where he was also forced into enslaved labour.
The prosecution said that Madam Kedevi again recruited seven children between the ages of nine and 16 from Ehi to Boti at Akpoklikofe to work as fishermen and fishmongers.
However, on May 16, 2018, the police, acting on intelligence, carried out an operation and rescued two of the children on the island who gave out information leading to the rescue of the other children.
All the children told the police that, Kedevi convinced their parents that she would send them to school and look after them.
The prosecution said that Kedevi in her caution statement admitted that she recruited the children from Ehi for the fishing business at Akpoklikofe but said that she did so with the consent of their parents. This was corroborated by the second convict, Mr Boti.
From Alberto Mario Noretti, Ho
Madam Sandra Seyram Kpedor, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Anloga in the Volta Region, has emphasised the importance of parental involvement in children’s education, stating that education is free, but parents need to do more to support their children.
She said parents, teachers, and students must be involved in addressing the challenges facing the district’s education sector, particularly the poor Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results.
Madam Kpedor outlined some key roles parents should play to promote their children’s education, including providing a conducive learning environment, monitoring their children’s progress, and supporting teachers.
The DCE highlighted some challenges the district faced such as inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of teachers, which have also contributed to the poor BECE results and called on well-to-do parent to help solve the situation through and other supports.
To address the issues, she also announced that plans have been taken to utilise the district’s common fund to implement educational projects, such as constructing school blocks and teachers’ bungalows at Sodzi community, and 2-unit classroom blocks each at Akplorwutorkor and Tegbi-Afedome respectively, among others.
Madam Kpedor also noted that her office had earlier notified the Ministry of Education to deploy more teachers to the area to improve teaching and learning, and encouraged students to work hard and strive for excellence, and work beyond their limit to succeed.
“To my wonderful and beautiful girls, you have to know it clear that women and girls have equal opportunities to compete with men for greater achievements,” she indicated.
The DCE cited her own achievement as a testament to the fact that women can excel in leadership positions, alongside Vice President Nana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and stressed that girls were no longer limited to domestic roles but can pursue their dreams and become leaders.
Additionally, she mentioned that a meeting was held earlier with assembly members, and other stakeholders to address the district’s educational challenges and improve academic performance.
She promised that the district’s education oversight committee and stakeholders would work together to address the challenges and improve the district’s BECE results and called for parental involvement and support to boost the district’s education sector for children to chase their dreams to become future leaders for the success of the district and the nation.
She urged parents not to leave everything to the government but rather help in the provision of some necessary materials such as textbooks, exercise books, pens, pencils, food, and guidance to children for the successes of young learners. –GNA
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The spokesperson for Dr. Bawumia, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has criticised the implementation of the NDC government’s No Fee Stress policy, arguing that the programme has failed to deliver on its core promise.
According to him on Starr fm, the policy, which was introduced to ensure stress free payment of fees for level 100 tertiary students, has rather turned into what he described as post stress support.
He explained that students are required to pay their fees first before applying for reimbursement, a situation he believes defeats the purpose of the policy.
He questioned claims by government officials that the policy has been successful and that citizens are happy.
In his view, such claims do not reflect the lived realities of many Ghanaians. He stressed that while some people may appear satisfied, many others continue to struggle.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye pointed to the situation of trained teachers and nurses who have been picketing for nearly six months, demanding employment.
He noted that government responses suggesting it cannot accommodate all of them contradict claims of economic stability.
He further argued that economic indicators such as a stable currency mean little to people who are unable to secure jobs or access promised support.
He observed that telling an unemployed teacher or a struggling student that the cedi has strengthened does not address their immediate challenges.
On the issue of tertiary education, he maintained that no level 100 student benefited from stress free fees in 2025, despite the policy being announced.
He added that in 2026, students have already reported to school without receiving the promised support.
He insisted that asking students to pay fees first and seek reimbursement later amounts to support after hardship, not stress free education.
According to him, this approach goes against what was promised during the policy announcement.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye questioned why a government that presents the economy as strong is unable to fulfil what he described as simple and clear promises.
He added that there is a fundamental problem with the way the economy is being managed and indicated that he is prepared to explain his position further.
By: Jacob Aggrey
