LANDLORD CLAIMS IMPOTENCY (MIRROR, PAGE 27)

From Vincent Amenuveve, Tamale.

DRAMA unfolded at the Tamale Circuit Court when a man facing trial for allegedly defiling a 13-year-old pupil at Gumbihini, a suburb of the metropolis, claimed that he was impotent and, therefore, could not have had an affair with the minor.
The suspect, Osman Alhassan, therefore prayed the court to discharge him since it was not possible for him to have had carnal knowledge of the victim due to his predicament. He therefore pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He was, however, remanded in prison custody pending further investigations into the matter. To verify the authenticity of his claims, the court ordered that the suspect be sent to the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) for medical examination. But the authorities of the TTH also referred the case to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi or the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra for specialists to conduct a thorough examination on the suspect.
The Northern Regional Coordinator of the Domestic Violence and Victims’ Support Unit (DOVSSU), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Teye Matey, told The Mirror in Tamale that the suspect was a landlord in whose house the victim and her family lived.
He said on April 26, 2009 the victim’s mother, Madam Mbama Kolboni, a food vendor, left the victim and her siblings in the house at Gumbihini early in the morning and went to sell her wares at Sakasaka.
According to ASP Matey, the suspect picked the younger sibling of the victim, who is about two years old and sent her into his room, ostensibly to soothe her.
He further stated that the suspect later invited the victim into his room and instructed her to take her younger sister away. The suspect took advantage of the victim’s entry into his room, pulled her onto his mattress that was lying on the floor and forcibly had carnal knowledge of her.
The DOVSSU Coordinator said when the victim’s mother returned home, she noticed a change and difficulty in the walking of the victim.
Upon questioning, the victim mentioned the suspect as the one responsible for her condition.
The victim’s mother later reported the matter to the police and the suspect was arrested.
ASP Matey indicated that the suspect denied the offence in his caution statement to the police but after investigations, he was charged with defilement and subsequently arraigned before the Tamale Circuit Court.
He stated that the suspect was remanded in prison custody.