Amanfuo, it was a hot Tuesday afternoon when on my way to the local "McDonalds" I saw a policeman busy distributing an incident poster which appeared to have the picture and dress of a black woman on it. As I drew closer I heard him telling a shop owner that this woman in the picture was a drug mole or courier who arrived from Ghana about two weeks ago with cocaine embedded in her belly. That the Ghana government has refused to take the body as no one had come forward to claim it, hence the appeal now going around. The shop owner asked surprisingly again "where did you say she came from again?" The policeman answered "Ghana". Amanfuo at that moment I had to bow my head in shame. I asked the policeman to give me a copy which I have posted on the net today.
Amanfuo in far away Sutton in Surrey, a relatively quiet town the size of Kokrobitey, the name of the mighty nation is being dragged through the mud in circumstances that remains unclear.
The story is not old, but the implications could be far reaching when one considers where this ugly event happened. The St. Helier hospital where this poor soul was dumped has a large number of Ghanaian health professionals who are highly regarded and well respected - doctors, nurses, managers, IT professionals, porters, midwives, researchers, security personnel, kitchen people etc. Infact the number of health personnel could easily populate the Komfo Anokye hospital and help solve the current government's headache if the price they say was right. This societal recognition was heightened during the recent FIFA world cup SUCCESS in Germany. Shame is a chicken word to describe the current feelings of the Ghanaian population within and around the hospital area.
Amanfuo, on the 29th May there were reports that a woman from Ghana had been dumped from a moving vehicle by a group of people. She appeared to be suffering from abdominal pains. She was assisted by someone to the Accident &Emergency department which is not too far from the main road. She had nothing on her except her African traditional dress. The sad thing is that before anyone could ascertain what was wrong with her, she started ebbing away and could only give her name as Mary Kofi including where she claimed to have come from. It is difficult to tell which part of Ghana or if indeed she is a Ghanaian at all as she apparently spoke English throughout her ordeal.
Mary was later found to have about 61 pellets in her stomach now believed to be cocaine. I believe from then on security would have been tightened around the dead body for fear of her accomplices coming back to steal it and removing the precious cargo.
Many may ask what is wrong with May Kofi smuggling cocaine to the Whiteman's land to make a few "bobs". Amanfuo, cocaine drug addiction is claiming many innocent lives, often bringing in its wake untold suffering to the families blighted by this canker. More importantly there are many young Ghanaian children who are faced with all the daily palaver of racism, discrimination etc everywhere. The last thing they need is substance addition which could completely destroy their futures. Ghana and AFRICA WILL THEN BE THE LOSER.
Secondly, this cocaine palaver appears to be a growing problem since we went democratic. Freedom of this and that including the freedom to smuggle, freedom of some police officers to make seized cocaine disappear overnight, freedom of allowing such suspects to skip detention and escape through our very own Kotoka International Airport is killing our dear nation softly. This government needs to get to grips with this cocaine business. Please invest appropriately in the economy with the little Langa from debt relief, motivate the diasporians to contribute to nation development, generate jobs, even if it is jobs for the masses. Please stop the buying of military hardware, posh cars for government appointees, the kickbacks and front backs and do something now before the nation sinks.
They will not allow you to carry your small koobi (salted fish) through KIA, but you can smuggle out 61 pellets of wonderful powder. Heaven help us.
What is also astonishing is the inability of the Ghana High commission to come out and throw more light on this shameful event i.e. Whether the lady is a Ghanaian or not and what they intend to do about that. This is not looking good at all.
The British police plans to feature this latest cocaine - dead body saga in the popular "Crime watch" series next week with the hope of getting the body identified and claimed, as it is beginning to cost money in terms of it's preservation and police time. In the end the body may just have to be buried in an unmarked grave with the stomach contents hopefully returned to where it came from. The family may never then never see the last days of this woman who agreed to carry such a dangerous cargo in her belly in the hope of making some living.
May God have mercy. No insults please.
God bless Ghana, the most blessed and peaceful nation on earth.
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