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Missionary pleads guilty to sex crime in Kenya
An American Christian missionary has pleaded guilty in a US court to sexually abusing young girls at the orphanage he started in Kenya.
Gregory Dow, 61, admitted to four counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in a foreign place.
The orphanage was in operation from 2008 to 2017 when Mr Dow left Kenya.
The FBI and Kenyan authorities investigated him and he was charged in the US.
In 2008, Dow founded the orphanage in western Kenya. It was partly funded by churches in Lancaster county in the US state of Pennsylvania, reports local newspaper LNP.
He is accused of assaulting girls from 2013. Two of the girls were 11, one was 12 and another was 13, adds LNP.
“The defendant purported to be a Christian missionary who cared for these children and asked them to call him ‘Dad’. But instead of being a father figure, he preyed on their youth and vulnerability,” said the US Department of Justice in a statement.
He fled Kenya in September 2017 when the allegations of assault came to light, the statement adds.
It goes on to say that the FBI acted on a tip off and Mr Dow was charged in July 2019.
“Gregory Dow hid behind his supposed faith on the other side of the world, hoping no one in the US would know or care about the children he abused. He was wrong,” said US attorney William McSwain.
Prosecutors pointed out that in 1996 he pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit sexual abuse, for which he received two years’ probation and was ordered to register as a sex offender for a decade.
Dow is scheduled to be sentenced on September 29 , reports the AP news agency. -BBC
The Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President has hosted a delegation of African diaspora women who are in Ghana ahead of a planned Presidential Conferment of Citizenship ceremony.
The Director of Diaspora Affairs, Kofi Okyere Darko, explained in a Facebook post that the visit was a gesture of appreciation by the delegation to the Government of Ghana for its continued efforts to reconnect Africans in the diaspora with their ancestral homeland.
He indicated that the ceremony, scheduled for next Monday, will officially grant Ghanaian citizenship to members of the delegation as part of the country’s broader engagement with the African diaspora.
The delegation was led by Erica Bennett, Founder of the Diaspora Africa Forum.
According to Mr Okyere Darko, her years of advocacy have played an important role in strengthening ties between Africa and people of African descent living abroad.
He noted that the group’s journey towards citizenship represents not only a legal process but also a cultural and spiritual return to their roots.
Also present at the meeting was Natalie Jackson, an attorney who is also expected to receive Ghanaian citizenship during the ceremony. She works closely with renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Mr Okyere Darko emphasised that Ghana remains committed to strengthening relationships with the African diaspora and promoting unity, identity, and shared heritage among people of African descent worldwide.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana has signed a debt restructuring agreement with the Kingdom of Belgium as part of efforts to restore the country’s economic stability after the financial crisis that hit the nation in 2022 and 2023.
The Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, today disclosed that he signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of Ghana.
He explained that Ghana experienced a very difficult period during the crisis, which forced the government at the time to declare a debt default.
However, he indicated that the country is now recovering and witnessing a significant economic turnaround.
According to him, stronger systems are also being put in place to ensure that Ghana does not return to such a situation again.
Dr Forson noted that the agreement with Belgium is the eighth deal Ghana has concluded with countries under the Official Creditor Committee as part of its external debt restructuring programme.
He expressed appreciation to the Government of Belgium for its support and partnership with Ghana during the process.
The Finance Minister thanked Carole van Eyll, Ambassador of Belgium to Ghana, for her role in strengthening relations between the two countries.
The agreement forms part of Ghana’s broader effort to restructure its external debts and stabilise the economy following the crisis.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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