Dutchman's defecation case settled out of court

The Madina Community Tribunal on Thursday struck out a case in which a Dutch, Kamaiel van Roussum, a construction site supervisor, had been accused of defecating into a bucket from which his workers drank water.

This followed an out of court settlement by arbitration. Roussum who pleaded not guilty to causing public nuisance, was on a 50 million cedi bail with one surety.

Mrs Ivy Heward-Mills, chairman of the tribunal, said the tribunal was satisfied with the terms of settlement, adding that its decision was influenced by the intervention of the Netherlands Embassy and the remorse shown by the accused by attempting to pay the salaries of the workers even when they did not work on the days after the incident.

The tribunal said Roussum had also paid 100,000 cedis to each of his 70 workers as compensation and provided them with Christmas bonuses.

Mrs Heward-Mills said in taking that stance, the tribunal was trying to give meaning to one of the aims of the Tribunal Act - promoting peace and reconciliation.

This, she said, would enhance the cordial relations between Ghana and the Netherlands and prevent possible loss of jobs and scaring away investors.

The tribunal warned Roussum not to victimise Nii Amasa, a worker who initially disagreed with the terms of settlement, thereby creating tension and advised both parties to work in harmony.

Mr George Ankoma-Mensah, Counsel for Roussum, expressed his appreciation to the tribunal for agreeing to the out-of-court settlement.

He told the tribunal that the arbitration team held four meetings with the workers, and all of them have appended their signatures to the agreement. Mr Ankoma-Mensah said the company had provided toilet facilities at the construction site.

On December 6, last year, Mr Roussum, supervisor of a hotel project being undertaken by a Dutch firm, Nicostan Duvan at Nungua in Accra was said to have defecated into a bucket from which his workers drank water.

The workers reported the matter to the police and Roussum was arrested. He admitted defecating 15 times into one and the same bucket but not into 15 buckets as alleged.