Gender Minister dodges question on Takoradi girls

The Ministry for Gender, Children and Social Protection has declined to comment on a question regarding the manner in which the ministry and the government handled the case of now confirmed dead Takoradi girls.

The Ministry would not also comment on whether or not there is a social support package or protection of some sort for the families of the girls.

A Deputy Information Minister, Nana Dokua Asiamah Adjei, would not pass the question during the Wednesday’s Meet the Press Series in Accra when TV3‘s Selorm Amenyah put it to the Gender Minister during the question and answer session.

She cited security reasons as the grounds for rejecting the question.

The Gender Minister on Sunday, January 27 paid a visit to the families of the then missing girls and told the press in Takoradi that the girls were alive, assuring the families of government’s commitment to resolving the matter which had attracted public interest.

It later turned out – as was announced by the Ghana Police Service- that the girls had been killed.

This was after a second assurance by the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Service that the girls were alive and would soon be reunited with their families.

Against this background, TV3’s Selorm Amenyah sought to know from the Minister, who had put herself up for a question and answer session at the Meet the Press series, how she would describe the handling of the matter knowing the key role she played as Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection.

His question was rejected outright by the Deputy Information minister, who was the moderator of the event.

She explained the issue was a security matter being handled by the Ministry of Interior for which reason the sector minister would not answer the question.

“Unfortunately, we can’t take that because it lies solely with the Ministry of Interior, It’s a security issue now.”

She, however, did not indicate exactly when the Interior Ministry took over the matter for which reason questions in relation to the matter are deferred.

True to the words of Deputy Information Minister, the Gender Minister ignored the question about the Takoradi girls.

Background

Ruth Abakah, Priscilla Blessing Bentum, Ruth Love Quayson and Priscilla Koranchie, who went missing on various dates last year, the police said have been victims of kidnapping and murdering syndicate in Takoradi.

A year after the first girl went missing, some human remains were retrieved by the Police in August from the houses of the prime suspect in the case.

The remains were used to conduct a DNA test at the Police science and forensic laboratory in Accra,confirming they are the girls’.