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Girl 10, loses memory after horrific torture
A 10-year-old girl at Kpenoe, near Ho, is suffering from memory loss after she was tied up by her paternal grandmother and subjected to severe beatings and left under the scorching sun for more than four hours, a police inquest has revealed.
The perpetrator of this barbaric act by name, Aku Gbafa, a Togolese, who is believed to be in her 50s was said to have carried out the medieval torture on the helpless and starving child as punishment for using GH¢1 from the vegetables she was sent to sell, to buy food.
of the child
The poor and traumatised child who was rescued by officials of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development has been on admission at the Ho Teaching Hospital (HTU) with sores on her fingers and wrist, since November 19, struggling to regain her full memory.
The Probation Officer of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development in the Ho Municipality, Mr Wisdom Kodjo Krakani disclosed these to The Spectator on Tuesday.
He said that some horrified neighbours alerted his outfit on November 15, leading to the rescue of the girl (name withheld) and the subsequent handing over of the woman to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) at the Regional Police Headquarters, Ho.
According to Mr Krakani, preliminary investigations revealed that the girl, whose father lived in Togo, was staying with her grandmother at Kpenoe.
As a daily routine, her grandmother sent her to go into town to sell vegetables every morning before going to school.
The probation officer said on that fateful morning, the victim carried out the duty diligently and returned home to realise that her grandmother had left no food for her before going to the farm.
The starving child then used GH¢1 from the morning’s sales to buy rice and quickly told her grandmother about it, when she (Gbafa) returned home.
That, Mr Krakani said, angered the suspect who is said to have vowed that she would not go to the farm the next day but rather stay home to teach the child a bitter lesson.
True to her words, the woman tied both hands and both legs of the girl in the open the next morning and beat her with a cane for hours until the victim started bleeding from the injuries.
As if that was not enough, the grandmother ground pepper and smeared it into the cuts, before leaving the girl under the scorching sun for several hours.
Mr Krakani said that the suspect then told the child to tell her teachers or anyone who sought to know what happened to her that she accidentally fell in boiling water.
He said that though the incident took place a few days before the girl was rescued, the girl as of now could not remember the exact day due to the trauma she was suffering from.
The story was corroborated by DOVVSU on Monday when contacted.
Aku Gbafa is currently on bail assisting in police investigations.
From Alberto Mario Noretti, Kpenoe
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
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
