Catholic Nun tells her story

Mampong (Ashanti Region), 17 Feb. '99,

Sister Georgina Yaa Achiaa, 36, the Catholic Nun, who was alleged to have eloped with an ex-convict Henry Kofi Anim-Blankson, is currently undergoing physical and mental treatment as well as spiritual upliftment exercises at the Asante-Mampong Roman Catholic Mission House as part of her rehabilitation programme. Speaking to the GNA at Asante-Mampong, Sister Achiaa contended that she did not deliberately fall victim to the Anim- Blankson in her efforts to have him rehabilitated into society. She said she needed the sympathy, love and acceptance from the Rt. Rev. Bishop Akwasi Sarpong, Catholic Bishop of Kumasi and not a hasty condemnation and expulsion from the Sisterhood. She described her purported expulsion from the Sisterhood in absentia as improper and a display of human insensitivity. Sister Achiaa expressed her gratitude to all Christians, whose prayers redeemed her from "hell on earth" to her Christian faith. "Bishop Sarpong's instant application of the Canon Law to the ordeal I had survived is at variance with the basic principles of the Bible, which enjoins the church to help down-trodden individuals to have the feel of belonging and love", she said. Narrating her ordeal, Sister Achiaa said she had not had any formal training in prison ministration and that she fell victim to Anim- Blankson's tricks due to lack of knowledge, and she should, therefore, not be left to her fate. She noted that the communion service to inmates of the Kumasi Central Prison was not sufficient because convicts, whom they had ministered to return to the prison shortly on similar offences after their release. The Nun said with the assistance of the church, she had been able to rehabilitate four ex-convicts of the prison and thought she could add Anim-Blankson to her credit but he deceived her. Sister Achiaa said Anim-Blankson, under false pretences, claimed he had repented and gave testimonies at the Ahinsan and Offinso Catholic churches as well as the Saint Peter's Cathedral in Kumasi on how God, by virtue of his repentance, had cured his impotence. According to sister Achiaa, she unwittingly honoured Anim-Blankson's invitation to his house, ate some food offered to her and this landed her into that unhealthy situation. She said when they left Ghana for Nigeria, she was later initiated into occultism against her wishes in Lagos. After that, she alleged Anim-Blankson sold her out to be killed but she survived the ordeal through the powers of God and returned to Ghana. Sister Achiaa, who was sobbing while narrating her ordeal, said her plight had been worsened by the sudden death of her mother, who died a week after her return from Nigeria after a short illness. "My mother, who because of the incident looked desperate until her untimely death, was my regular visitor at the Mampong Police Station", she sobbed. GRi