Tragedy nearly occurred when the brake of a DAF cargo truck failed and ran over five cars in Kumasi around 11:00.a.m on Thursday.

The fully loaded cargo truck registered GE 2795 V, was caught–up in traffic at Suame Magazine, a densely populated area where faulty cars are prepared in the city.

When the traffic started moving, the DAF’s brake suddenly failed and the truck started descending a hill at a top speed, Richard Karikari of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) told Daily Guide.

This caused people in the area to panic and ran for their lives.
Drivers on the same road also left their cars and took to their heels, in a desperate attempt to avoid being hit by the truck.

Mr. Karikari said the driver of the truck initially tried to control the direction in which the truck was heading and this prevented his speeding truck from hitting several Cars.

He however said that after five minutes, the speed at which the truck was moving started increasing and the driver realised it was impossible to control the vehicle.

Mr. Karikari said the speeding truck then ran over four cars, causing extensive damage to them, before it finally rammed into a taxi cab registered GT 7801 W, and stopped.

The driver of the taxi cab, which was coming from the opposite direction, saw the DAF coming from afar at top speed so he hurriedly jumped out of his car before it was hit by the truck.

Luckily, the drivers whose cars got hit by the speeding DAF vehicle did not suffer serious injuries.

Source: Daily Guide/Ghana

But for the vigilance of a Pastor at Mankessim, a two-year-old baby boy would have lost his life through the cruelty of his biological father and step-mother who allegedly locked him up in a room for days and left him to his fate.

For this inhuman act, a Cape Coast Magistrate Court presided over by Narh Awuah, on Thursday remanded the father of the boy, Francis Abeiku Sakyi, a 22-year-old trader from Mankessim, into police custody.

The accused; who pleaded not guilty to the charges of exposing the baby to harm and failing to provide the necessities of life for him, would be arraigned on Wednesday, July 6.

The police are on the heels of his lover and alleged accomplice, Ernestina Obeng, 19, who also has a one-year-old baby boy with the accused and is currently on the run.

Prosecuting, Sergeant Samuel Amoako told the court that sometime in September last year, the mother of the two-year-old boy, Maame Efia, also now at large abandoned the boy in Sakyi’s room at Mankessim with the reason that the accused had deliberately neglected his son.

Sergeant Amoako said the accused, who lived with his lover and their one-year-old baby boy, together maltreated the two-year-old victim by beating him severely anytime he soiled himself.

The prosecutor alleged that they sometimes locked the two-year-old toddler up in a room without food and water and constantly subjected him to inhuman treatment until Pastor Henry Nortey; the complainant who lives in the same vicinity with them, reported the case to the Mankessim Police in March this year.

According to him, the police arrested the couple and made them sign a bond of good behaviour.

After sometime, the complainant visited their house again and requested to see the boy, but was told by the accused persons that he had been sent to his grandmother’s hometown at Gomoa Boasi.

Not satisfied with the explanations given, the complainant, who had then become suspicious of them, again reported the case to the police, who went to the house of the accused person and when a locked room was forced open, they found the two-year toddler lying sick, weak and helpless.

The accused was arrested and in his caution statement he failed to give any tangible explanation for his action, the prosecutor added.

Meanwhile, the toddler has been given medical attention at the Regional Hospital and is currently at the Cape Coast office of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU).

Source: GNA/Ghana

The acting Upper West Regional Director of the Department of Children, Israel Akrobortu has made a passionate appeal to the government to commission a study into the increasing incidence of streetism in the country.

He said the number of children on the streets is multiplying and if steps are not taken quickly and collectively to find the root causes of this upsurge of streetism, things will get out of hand.

Mr. Akrobortu made the appeal at the celebration of the African union day in Wa.

The African Union Day of the African child was instituted in 1990 by the African Heads of State in commemoration of the massacre of innocent children in Soweto under Apartheid South Africa in 1976. The purpose of the day which is on the theme "ALL TOGETHER FOR ARGENT ACTIONS IN FAVOUR OF STREET CHILDREN" is to draw the attention of both Governmental and Non-governmental organisations, parents and society at large to the many problems that afflict the African child and impedes his development.

Mr Akrobortu said though the apartheid system is no longer in existence, the celebration of the African day of the child is still relevant, because our children continue to be faced with many problems such as diseases, illiteracy, child labour and poverty. These issues he said need to be addressed to ensure the child’s proper development, so that they can contribute significantly to the socio economic development of the country.

‘‘It is an undeniable fact that many Ghanaian families are breaking down and children are being compelled to fight and struggle for their own survival. Family violence and divorce are on the increase among Ghanaians. Emotional and physical abuse of children as well as neglect of children especially their educational needs are becoming chronic problems in our communities’’.

‘‘Today the children on streets are multiplying as more and more join them, those already there are starting families, sadly these families have single parents and if we do not quickly and collectively find solution to the root causes of this upsurge of streetism things will get out of hand’’.

The upper west deputy regional minister, Carle Caesar expressed worry that efforts to address issues of streetism had not been effective enough.

‘‘They have largely been uncoordinated. Without adequate funding and support and adhoc in nature’’

Mr. Caesar called on municipal/district assemblies to take up the issue of streetism more seriously and fashion out the relevant bye laws to deal with it.

He said government on its part will pursue policies and programmes to increase access to education and other opportunities as part of efforts to eliminate streetism, citing the increasing of the capitation grant and the provision free school uniforms and exercise books to pupils in deprived areas.

Story by Rafiq Salam/Wa/Ghana

A 43-year-old military officer, George Koffie, has been put before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly raping his 16-year-old daughter in a hotel room at La-Accra.

The accused person was put before a court presided over by Mrs. Ivy Heward-Mills where he was charged with incest.

His plea was not taken and he was remanded in police custody to be brought back to court on June 28, 2011, for further hearing of the case.

The accused person looked shocked and unsettled as his charge was read to him and he tried to deny the offence even after he was told his plea would not be taken.

He said he was framed up by his daughter in an attempt to disgrace him, but he was told he would be given the opportunity to state his side of the story.

The trial judge asked the mother of the victim, who was in the courtroom, whether her daughter had ever confided in her about the incident and she answered in the affirmative, but said she thought her daughter made up the story about her husband because she was seeing a guy whom her father did not approve of.

ASP Sarah Acquah, the prosecuting officer who presented the facts of the case, told the court that the accused person is a military officer who lives with his wife and the victim who is their biological daughter and a student.

She said the accused person, between the hours of 5:00a.m and 11:00a.m on June 3, 2011, invited his daughter out to a hotel at La-Accra, where he forcibly had sex with her, told her not to tell anybody and took her home.

According to her, a Good Samaritan saw them and reported the matter to the police, leading to the arrest of the soldier.

Explaining further, she said a form was later given to the victim by the police for her to attend hospital for treatment, after which the medical report was given to the police.

The prosecuting officer said the military man denied the offence after his arrest and was arraigned after police had concluded investigations.

Source: Daily Guide/Ghana