General News of Tuesday, 16 February 2010

Source: Ghanaian Times

Man impregnates foster daughter

A 50-year-old businessman, David Otibu, is being sought for by the Madina Police for defiling and impregnating his 13-year-old primary four adopted daughter.

The victim, (name withheld) was four years when Otibu and his wife adopted her from his parents at Awutu in the Central Region.

A police source at the Madina Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DVVSU) of the Police, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a concoction Mr Otibu gave to the victim to drink, in an attempt to abort the pregnancy, would be sent to the laboratory to determine if it is a poisonous substance.

Mrs Gifty Nuerkie Nortey, the Primary four teacher at the St James Anglican Basic School at Teiman, near Oyarifa, told the Times that the girl attended class last Tuesday with a pregnancy test kit and confided in her that, Mr Otibu her guardian who had been defiling her since she was in primary two, had made her pregnant.

The teacher said the girl told her that Mr Otibu had also taken her to a clinic at Osu where it was confirmed that she was pregnant.

Mrs Nortey said she also took her to the Pantang Hospital for another test and it was also confirmed that she was pregnant.

The teacher said she then led the girl to make a report at the Madina Police last Friday.

She alleged that after reporting the case to the police, the chief of Teiman, Nii Manle Dzahaa, got furious and summoned all the teachers to his palace, rebuking them for reporting the matter to the police.

She said the chief had wanted to settle the case out of court but they (teachers) had shown gross disrespect to him.

The chief then threatened to make life unbearable for them in the town.

When the Times spoke to the chief Monday, he admitted issuing the threat adding that the teachers had shown gross disrespect to him by ignoring his summons, and rather reported the issue to the police.

He also told the Times that David Otibu is his friend and when he called him on phone yesterday, he denied responsibility for the pregnancy, adding that, he the chief was angry because he wanted to hear from Mr Otibu first before the matter is reported to the police.

The chief would however not give out Otibu's cell phone number to the media to communicate with him.

A friend of the girl (name withheld) also told the Times that the girl confided in her that, Mr Otibu separated her from his own children and gave her alone a room in the vast mansion.

She said this enabled Mr Otibu to have access to her anytime he wanted to defile her.

When the Times contacted Mrs Emelia Otibu yesterday in their plush mansion near the Aburi Mountains, for her comment, she rather flew into tantrums saying, "I have blood pressure already so don't publish this story. Accidents do occur at times. Nobody is above temptations."

She would make no further comment until she sees her husband.

When the Times also visited the Pantang Hospital a reliable source at the laboratory showed documents to confirm that the victim was actually pregnant and that it was Dr Degaule Dogbatse who handled the victim’s pregnancy test.

Mrs Ursula A. Mensah, officer in charge of girls’ education at the Ga East Municipal Assembly said they were horrified by the incident.

She called for a thorough investigation into the matter and the culprit brought to book.

Mrs Mensah also urged young girls to confide in their teachers, if someone did anything wrong to them.

She advised parents who gave out their daughters for adoption to the wealthy in society, to be extra careful about the background of such people.