Dipping a Ghanaian female kitchen staffer’s in a paste of freshly blended pepper at the Abelenkpe branch of Marwako Fast Food Limited is an attack on the dignity of all Ghanaian women, Dr Abu Sakara Foster, the 2012 presidential candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), has said.

The victim, Evelyn Boakye, alleged that Mr Jihad Chaaban, her supervisor, forcefully dipped her face in a paste of freshly blended pepper. She also said Mr Chaaban locked her up for several hours after the incident.

Ms Boakye reported the case to the police who arrested Mr Chaaban, interrogated him and later granted him bail. He was subsequently charged with assault on Tuesday, 7 March.

The incident has been widely condemned by Ghanaians on social media, leading to a call for a total boycott of Marwako.

On Tuesday, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection Ms Otiko Afisa Djaba, Labour and Employment Relations Minister Ignatius Baffour-Awuah and MP for the area, Kyeremateng Agyarko met with the management of Marwako over the matter. The Labour Minister ordered an intensive audit of Marwako’s labour practices.

Speaking on GHOne’s State of Affairs hosted by Nana Aba Anamoah on Tuesday, 7 March, Dr Sakara said: “This is not only a physical assault on her as a person, it is also an assault on the womanhood of Ghanaians and the dignity of Ghanaians. If we are gracious enough to open our country up to people to come in to do business, that is not an excuse for you to erode the dignity that we have as a people.”

“And I think at the 60th anniversary celebration, what are we celebrating if the very essence of the least of human values, human dignity, we cannot protect. I think aside from all the issues that have been raised, she should be afforded the protection, not just because of the legal implications of it, but also because of the psychological and social implications where the weakest amongst us must feel that they are also important and that we as a society will support them and provide the network for them,” Dr Sakara said.

“This case is not about her, it is about Ghanaians as citizens of this country and how we expect to be treated because if somebody can get away with this in this country, then who are you in their country?”