Tabloid News of Friday, 2 November 2001

Source: .

Paralysed Rape Victim Dies In Hospital

A 14-year-old final year Junior Secondary School pupil at Kumasi, who was rendered totally paralysed after being brutally raped by her cousin is reported dead. The deceased who was seriously traumatized and unable to talk had been on admission at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for about four weeks but passed away on Tuesday.

A post mortem report conducted on her indicated that she died of “Septicaemia due to massive collection of pus in the endometrium and urinary bladder.”

The suspected rapist, an ex-convict named only as Kwabena, aged 25, is a known barber and driver’s mate who is currently on the run. The girl died just a week to the expiration of an ultimatum issued by the Women and Juvenile Unit of the Police to her father, Kwaku Dwamena to produce the suspect who is his nephew.

The ultimatum followed Mr Dwamena’s statement that although he knows of Kwabena’s whereabouts; he was not prepared to hand him over to the police for prosecution.

The facts of the case are that both the victim and the suspect lived with Mr Dwamena in the same house. About two months ago, the deceased visited her mother at her hometown but when she returned home about 7pm, her father had locked the door and gone out.

She therefore decided to sleep in Kwabena’s room, but just before she went to bed, Kwabena sent her younger brother who also sleeps in the same room to buy him food. As soon as the boy left on the errand, Kwabena pounced on the girl, gagged and sexually assaulted her.

She made several attempts to inform her father but when he appeared reluctant to listen to her, she reported the case to her mother who in turn sent her to the hospital and made a subsequent report to the police.