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Some parents, guardians engaging in ‘mercy killing’ of children with special needs?
Aid children with special needs
Parents and guardians of children with special needs have been advised to stop molesting and engaging in ‘mercy killing’ of these unfortunate children.
The Unit Headmistress of Ofori Panin Primary Special Needs School at Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region, Mrs Charity Yaa Otu, in an interview, hinted that some parents and guardians were abusing and allegedly killing these children who had disability in their intellectual abilities — such as those with cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, autism, hydrocephalus among other intellectual and developmental disabilities.
She revealed that as headmistress of the school, she had received reports from some parents about their in-laws, family and community members impressing on them (parents) to allegedly kill or abuse these children.
“In some of our cultural settings they describe these children as spirit children or children from the gods and some people feel they should not be made to live and kill them or treat them badly by abusing them,” she said.
She further alleged that some guardians and parents intentionally take them for shopping to win their trust and later mix poisonous concoctions for them to drink and die.
“Because these special needs children may be difficult to live with some parents abuse them in their homes at the slightest provocation,” she added.
She disclosed that some of the children received harsh treatment from some community members who again physically assaulted or raped them.
Mrs Yaa Otu revealed that recently one of her students, Yaw Manteh aged 20 years who had cerebral palsy was physically abused by some unknown persons in his area, recalling that the school management together with some teachers had to contribute about GH¢3,000 to take the boy to the Kukurantumi Community Hospital, where they were later referred to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for laboratory tests.
The headmistress noted that such domestic and societal abuse as well as alleged killing were unfortunate, adding that it was high time society changed their negative perception about special needs children and rather showed them the needed love and care they deserved.
“These children even though challenged, have capabilities which if positively harnessed can empower them to be self-reliant and will be able to contribute their quota to the development of their households, their communities and the nation as a whole.”
She advised parents of children with special needs to report to the police if anyone including family and community members pressured them to mistreat their children or kill them.
She hinted that the school was the only special school in the area catering for about 50 pupils and prayed that Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Philanthropists, among others will come to our aid.”
She mentioned some key stakeholders such as the Municipal Education Director, Mrs Abena Gyamerah and MP for Abuakwa North, Mrs Gifty Twum Ampofo who have been helpful but added that more help was needed to properly train the children.
Speaking to the Eastern Regional Secretary of the Ghana Federation for Persons with Disability, Ms Felicity Amponsem Kyere, on the issue, she confirmed that her attention had been drawn to issues of similar nature.
She said there was the need for a revision of cultural norms to change the negative perception towards such children.
She, therefore, called on government and stakeholders in the disability sector to come to the aid of these special children.
She called on the Municipal and District Assemblies to give the PWDS the needed three and half per cent of the common fund due them to organise disability days to educate the public on disability and their rights.
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Kukurantumi
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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