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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
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Christian Tetteh Yohuno, together with members of the Police Management Board (POMAB), on April 17, 2026, decorated nineteen (19) senior officers who have been promoted to their next ranks based on the recommendations of the Police Council and approval of the President, John Dramani Mahama.
The ceremony, held at the National Police Headquarters in Accra, forms part of efforts to recognise merit, dedication, and long-standing service within the Ghana Police Service, while strengthening leadership across key operational and administrative levels.
The officers promoted from Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) to Commissioner of Police (COP) are Dr. Luke Asue-In-Yeng Zakpaa, Mr. Frederick Agyei, Mr. Duuti Tuaruka, Mr. Arthur Osei-Akoto, Mr. Darko Offei Lomotey, Mr. Eric Ken Winful, Mr. Barnabas Nambont Nasumong, and Mr. Desmond Owusu Boampong.
The IGP and members of POMAB congratulated the officers and urged them to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in the discharge of their duties.
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
