According to reports, the first-year Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) student who was allegedly raped by two men, one of whom was a police officer, is disturbed and has been thinking about committing suicide.
On the current events and politics program GhanAkoma on Akoma FM, the university relations officer, Dr. Daniel Norris Bekoe, announced the development.
“The victim (name withheld) after the sad incident has been contemplating suicide due to victimization and stigmatization, so we have really protected her identity and we have also commissioned a counselling session for her to ensure she is reintegrated into social and academic lives on campus and off campus,” Dr. Bekoe revealed to the show’s host Aduanaba Kofi Asante Ennin.
A female student was allegedly gang-raped by a police officer and a KNUST final-year student named Lance Corporal Frank Adu Poku and Joel Osei Owusu after they tricked her into an off-campus hostel in Bomso. They then allegedly pounced on the victim, raped her in turns, and videotaped the entire incident.
Although the police administration has not released an official statement on the case, prosecutor ACP Kofi Blagozi revealed to press during the court hearings that Lance Corporal Frank Adu Poku had been detained.
ACP Blagozi claims that the incident occurred on July 19, 2022, when the victim, who sells women’s apparel, put some of the goods up for sale online.
Joel Osei Owusu, one of the accused, contacted the victim after seeing an advertisement for items for sale and saying he had similar items and wanted to give them to her.
He persuaded her that she could make more money from the items he planned to give her, and she agreed to see him on Tuesday, July 19.
“Under the guise of showing her the garments, the suspect led the victim into his room. Suddenly, he closed the door and put the key in his pocket, and pounced on her as they alternated in gratifying their sexual appetites.”
KNUST Commissions Counseling Session for Rape Victim
Dr. Norris Bekoe, the university relations officer at KNUST, emphasized the necessity of ordering counseling for the victim, adding it is essential to make sure the victim doesn’t harm herself.
We carefully handled the situation when the victim revealed that she had been thinking about killing herself because she felt hopeless and dreadful about having to face the world after such trauma and the stigma it carries. We hope the court will treat the poor girl justly.
How Akoma FM blew the story
The two victims had previously been reported on by GhanAkoma, a current events and political program on Akoma FM, thanks to credible sources, even before they were transported from Apiadu Police Station and KNUST Police Station to the Ashanti Regional Police Command.
There were signs that the KNUST District Police were treating the investigation roughly and attempting to hide the wrongdoing because one of their own was a suspect.
People are asking how a July 19 incident could result in suspects being detained in detention for nearly a week before being presented in court. The matter was transferred from KNUST District Command to the regional command for additional investigation after the police became aware of the media attention from Akoma FM and were forced to inform their superiors.
Suspects remanded
The Asokore Mampong District Court remanded police officer Lance Corporal Frank Adu Poku and his accomplice, Joel Osei Owusu, on Thursday, July 28. They were accused of gang-raping a first-year student at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
The two suspects are expected to appear before the court on Tuesday, August 9.
