General News of Friday, 15 June 2012

Source: News One

Blows Over Amina Yutong Movie

A heated bidding war has erupted between movie producers over the rights to turn the story of Amina Mohammed, the woman at the centre of the alleged mass rape of passengers on a Tamale bound Yutong bus, into a movie.

Movie bigwigs Abdul Salam Mumuni of Venus Films and Socrates Safo have already made bids of GH¢20,000 and GH¢20,001 respectively to secure the rights to the proposed movie. The bidding war is set to continue, with other offers coming from as far away as China and Sweden.

Not to be outdone, a number of movie producers in Kumasi have proposed an open bidding session at a central venue to determine the eventual winner.

Speaking a day after an Accra High Court struck out the State’s charges of causing fear and panic and deceit of public officer against her, Amina told Adakabre Frimpong Manso, host of Adom FM’s ‘Dwaso Nsem’ morning show on Tuesday, June 12, that although she had not received any direct offers from movie producers, she was ready to work with any producer or company that was willing to turn her troubles into a movie.

“I have not written anything down yet but I will start (writing the script) very soon,” she announced. Amina was arrested in October 2010 after she had alleged on Adom FM’s mid morning show, ‘Work and Happiness’, that armed robbers attacked a Yutong bus on which she was a passenger with her mother at Kubease in the Ejisu Municipality of the Ashanti Region.

She alleged that the robbers ordered the male passengers to rape their female counterparts, including a father who was made to rape his 14-year-old daughter. When the story hit the airwaves and print media, spokespersons of government accused the opposition of fabricating the story to create tension in the country.

The police charged her after investigations, claiming the said rape never occurred, although there was a robbery incident. She pleaded not guilty and after almost a year of prosecuting the case, an Accra High Court judge upheld an application of ‘No Case’ brought by Amina’s lawyers. According to the judge, the prosecution failed to adduce any evidence to support the charge of causing fear and panic it leveled against the accused.

In the midst of her troubles, Amina was accused, among others thing, of taking money from the opposition NPP to create disaffection for the ruling party, being an armed robber and a witch, and was also driven out of her matrimonial home.

Amina told listeners her husband divorced her for allegedly disgracing his preferred political party, NDC, but with the case finally over, the embattled Amina is set to have the last laugh when the curtains are drawn on the last act in the ‘Amina’ movie.

Kwaku Amankwatia, who signed Amina’s bail bond and has been involved in the case for almost two years, thanked the legal team for its support and also expressed his readiness to star in any future movie.