Hot!
Suspected gay bedridden a year after mob attack
• Hakiku in POP on admission
A-40-year-old Madina-based trader in Accra, Mohammed Hakibu, has been bedridden for nearly a year following his attack by an angry mob on suspicion of being a gay.
Hakibu, who is currently on admission, said that he had not been able to work after the incident. The case was reported to the police at Madina but no arrest has been made as of now.
Narrating the incident to The Spectator, he said he met some friends (who were later rumoured to be part of the LGBTQ group), at an Islamic wedding in February 2021.
He said that in the course of the event, they hugged and held hands together most of the time, heartily chatting and joining in the merry-making.
According to him, he did not know that his own friends and neighbours at the event had read meanings into their show of affection for themselves and drawn had a conclusion that Hakibu (who even had a serious fiancée) was gay and, they launcheda deadly attack on him at home in order to, as they claim, “punish me for being a bad Muslim.”
He claimed he was attacked by an irate group one day and mercilessly beaten thus rendering him unconscious whilst at home with his fiancée — one Rose Diabo.
“They attacked me in my house together with my fiancee and she also sustained head injuries. It was late at night andwe were even asleep when I heard loud bangs on the door; so I went to open it and about 20 fully-armed men, many of whom were my childhood friends, pounced on me without hesitation,” the victim narrated his ordeal in tears.
Surprised by their unwarranted actions, he demanded an explanation as they kept beating him before he got to know that his attackers were accusing him of being gay and having gay friends who hesometimes harboured in his house, which wasan abomination in their community.
He vehemently denied the false charge, but to no avail.
“They used clubs, sticks and cutlasses to attack me and even broke my leg whiles beating me. It was my fiancée who disregarded her pain and called for a vehicle to convey us to the hospital,” Hakibu said.
Now, a-year-and-half on, the visibly injured Hakibu has remained bedridden yet to get back on his feet, having spent all his earnings on medication without any income since he has not opened his petty trading shop at the Madina market, all this while.
“It’s sad the way we handle people we accuse of any crime even before verifying in this country; we are too quick to judge people. Even if being gay was a crime and I was one, what they did to me should never be done to anyone, it was horrible,” the victim lamented.
By Prince Dornu-Leiku
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
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
Intercity STC Coaches Limited has interdicted a driver captured in a viral video allegedly hitting a Sprinter bus during an overtaking manoeuvre at Pokuase before driving away from the scene.
In a public notice, the company described the driver’s conduct as unacceptable, stressing that it did not reflect the safety standards and professionalism it upholds.
Management said it had commenced an immediate investigation into the incident and identified the driver, who has been interdicted pending the outcome of the disciplinary process.
The company added that it was awaiting an official report from the Pokuase Police Command to help establish the facts surrounding the incident.
STC reaffirmed its commitment to passenger safety and responsible road use, while thanking members of the public for bringing the incident to its attention.
Management assured the public that appropriate action would be taken following the investigation.
By: Jacob Aggrey
