The Upper West Regional Police Command is on a manhunt for a gang of men who allegedly beat up a teacher and stripped him naked after accusing him of sleeping with a married woman in Wa.
In a statement issued and signed by the Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Inspector Gideon Boateng, the Command said the gang recorded the incident and circulated it on various social media platforms, thereby infringing on the fundamental human rights of the accused persons.
“The Upper West Regional Police Command has intercepted a viral video in which a man and a woman were being assaulted by a group of people at a certain location in the Wa Municipality. The command has commenced investigation into the incident to apprehend the perpetrators,” it stated.
The statement further appealed to residents in the area to desist from all forms of violence that will disturb the peace in the area.
“The Regional Police Command is on this note urging the general public to desist from taking the law into their own hands by brutalising people for offences deemed to have been committed, but rather arrest and send the alleged offenders to the nearest police station for the necessary action.”
Citi News sources at the Upper West Regional Police CID indicated that on July 24, a gang of men, numbering about 10, besieged a guest house in Wa and forcefully broke into one of the rooms where a male teacher and a married nursing mother, who is also a teacher, were staying.
The source explained that the group, led by the husband of the said lady allegedly beat up the two and stripped the man naked.
The source further indicated that the group recorded videos of the incident and shared on various social media platforms, attracting the attention of the Regional Police Command who issued a warrant for the arrest of the perpetrators.
Meanwhile, Sufyan Gbolo, a brother of the Man who was stripped naked, narrating the ordeal of his brother to Citi News, alleged that some influential people are preventing the police from arresting the perpetrators.
He said “the state attorney told me that my brother could be killed and nothing will happen to the boys. Since then, it’s been more than a week and no arrest has been made.”
He appealed the law enforcement agencies to ensure justice prevails.
Per the norms and traditions of Wa where the two accused persons currently live, having sex with a married man or woman who is not one’s spouse is prohibited.
Persons who engage in the act are either surcharged or punished by the traditional authorities.
The state attorney in charge of the Upper West region, Saed Abdul-Shakuur declined to comment on the matter.
The Upper West Regional Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Alhaji Sadick Ubaidu in an interview with Citi News said beating the two accused persons and stripping the male teacher is a breach on their fundamental rights.
“What they have done, violates the dignity of the victim. The constitution says that the fundamental human rights of all persons shall be respected and upheld by all”.
Article 15 of the 1992 constitution of Ghana guarantees that the dignity of all persons shall be invaluable and that no person shall, whether or not be arrested, restricted or detained or be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment.
Mr. Sadie Ubaidu, therefore, opined that the treatment meted out on the two “lovers” is a stuck infringement on their fundamental human rights.
He called on the police to up their game and arrested the perpetrators to allow for justice to prevail.