News
COV1D collapses my business… blind man laments
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected several people badly in so many ways but that of Seth Kwame Ajimi a.k.a Skanjimi seems more terrible as he has to struggle as a blind person and a drinking spot owner.
Unless there is a divine intervention, the 59-year-old man would continue to wallow in financial difficulty. In an interview with The Spectator, he described his situation in this COVID-19 era as “terrible.”
Mr. Ajimi who became blind 11 years ago as a result of a domestic accident said that going through life as a physically challenged had been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic.
He explained that before now, “blind people could conveniently touch surfaces and people to help them with their movement but the outbreak of the deadly disease has put them at the disadvantage.”
“Now we are told to avoid touching surfaces and also practise social distancing so you understand me when I say life has not been easy,” he explained.
The Operator of the Skanjimi Spot located in the Kpone Katamanso Municipality of the Greater Accra Region said that his business which entailed the sale of food and drinks was affected when a railway line was constructed around his spot but he was managing to survive until March last year when there was the COVID-19 and subsequently a lockdown and this had put him in an awkward situation.
“That was when I fell flat on the floor. I had to send some of my workers away and run the place with the help of a boy who helps me with my movement and one staff,” he lamented.
He said persons who operated bars, spots, pubs among other related businesses had been ordered not to run full time but nothing or little had been done to support people like him.
The visually impaired said that people hardly patronised his spot these days yet he had to “squeeze” to pay his bills and provide hygiene materials to keep his place safe from the coronavirus in order to protect himself and his customers.
He said that he had been trying to put up a chamber and hall building when business was good but it had stalled because he could hardly raise money from his business to continue the project.
Mr. Ajimi said he feared his current landlord may be compelled to eject him for his inability to promptly pay rent and called on the public to support him in both cash and kind to survive, hoping to come out of the wood since “the downfall of a man is not the end of his life”.
From Dzifa Tetteh, Kpone
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
