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Judge commends police, social welfare, others for fight against human trafficking
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The Supervising High Court Judge in the Volta Region, Mr Eric Baah, has commended the Ghana Police Service, Department of Social Welfare and the International Justice Mission for their valiant roles in the pursuit, arrest and subsequent conviction a fortnight ago of the Volta Lake couple known for their notoriety in human trafficking.
He also praised the counsel for the republic, Mr Andrews Adugu and the Attorney General’s Department for the hard work and diligence which resulted in the successful prosection and caging of the duo.
Fishmonger, Aku Kedevi, 40, and her fisherman boy friend, Michael Boti, 63, earned extra money from trafficking children from one location to another, subjecting them to brutish servitude in the fishing business.
They were found guilty of trafficking nine children, including one Nigerian from their homes between 2015 and 2017 to locations far away, where they exploited the children in mid-waters on the Volta Lake and outside the lake as well, to enrich themselves.
The Spectator last Saturday carried the full story of their trial at a Ho High Court.
The court sentenced Kedevi and Boti to 10 years and eight years imprisonment in hard labour respectively for human trafficking.
For conspiracy to commit human trafficking, Kedevi and Boti were sentenced to five years imprisonment each, while Boti was slammed with an additional seven-year jail term for the use of trafficked persons.
The sentences are to run concurrently.
Giving judgement, Mr Justice Baah, presiding, said that the victims suffered pain and trauma in their formative years when they had the least capacity to cope.
“Their parents deserted them. Society cannot fail them. If their lives are not put back on, it is the society that will suffer their future vengeance. They need care and support,” the court added.
The court ordered the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and Department of Social Welfare to make the necessary arrangements for the victims’ custody, their welfare and education or training.
Meanwhile, the court described Kedevi as a disgrace to womanhood, saying that as a matured woman she was expected to show compassion to children and work to secure their security but she did the opposite.
The court branded Boti, a chief, as a failed leader of his community.
“As a chief, he was expected to trumpet the campaign against human trafficking and child slavery.
“Instead, he gleefully subjected other people’s children to bondage and servitude, as he sought the best of education for his own children,” the court said.
From Alberto Mario Noretti, Ho
Deputy National Women Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mimi Duah, has openly declared her support for Mavis Hawa Koomson as the next National Women’s Organiser of the party.
In a statement endorsing Hawa Koomson’s candidature, Ms Duah outlined four key reasons why she believes the former MP and Minister of State is best placed to lead the party’s women’s wing.
According to her, Hawa Koomson is a motherly figure who rose from the grassroots and is widely noted for her forgiving nature and ability to foster unity.
“She is a true grassroots mother who easily forgives, fosters unity, provides guidance and arbitrates to ensure all aggrieved party women are brought on board to ensure a unified women’s wing,” she stated.
Ms Duah also pointed to Hawa Koomson’s vast experience, having served as a Constituency Women’s Organiser, Member of Parliament and Minister of State, noting that the experience positions her to provide effective leadership as National Women’s Organiser.
She further described Hawa Koomson as capable of making the women’s wing resourceful, through her extensive network and business contacts, to lobby for logistics, training and financial support for women organisers at all levels.
Lastly, she said the NPP as an opposition party needs fearless, bold and assertive leadership at the women’s front to inspire regional, constituency and polling station women organisers as the party reorganises towards the 2028 elections.
“We need a Women’s Organiser who has been tested, who is bold, who understands grassroots women, and who can lead us to victory in 2028. Hon. Mavis Hawa Koomson is that leader,” she stressed.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister inaugurates Ghana-Korea Heritage Project Steering Committee
Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has inaugurated the Ghana-Korea Heritage Project Steering Committee to provide strategic oversight for a five-year programme focused on preserving Ghana’s heritage sites and strengthening their resilience to climate change.
The project will support climate-risk mapping, digital surveying and 3D modelling, joint research, capacity building, community engagement and modern monitoring technologies.
Korea is also providing specialised equipment, including drones, 3D scanners, digital microscopes, thermal imaging cameras and GPS survey instruments, to enhance Ghana’s capacity to scientifically assess, document and conserve heritage structures.
The partnership, which will run through 2030 and beyond, is expected to deepen Ghana-Korea cultural ties while promoting sustainable, technology-driven and climate-adaptive heritage management for future generations.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
