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What was meant to be a joyful occasion turned tragic last Thursday at Gbawe Zero, a suburb of Accra, when a child naming ceremony ended in violence. A queenmother, Pearl Naa Dodoowa Whitaker, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen, while another woman sustained gunshot injuries and is currently receiving treatment at the University of Ghana Medical Centre. Her condition is reported to be stable.
The deceased, aged 33 and a mother of two, had recently completed her enstoolment rites and was awaiting her official coronation. She was to be known by her stool name, Naa Agyinafo I, of Papaase — a community situated along the Accra–Nsawam stretch.
Police have since confirmed the incident and say investigations are ongoing. The Odorkor Divisional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kofi Sarpong, visited the scene and confirmed that a chief, Nii Ayi Solomon, aged 44 — known in private life as Ibrahim Ayi Kwashie Solomon — reported the shooting incident at his residence, where he was hosting a naming ceremony for his newborn child.
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According to ACP Sarpong, the chief told police that the ceremony commenced at 10 a.m., and by 4 p.m., most of the guests had begun to leave.
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“According to him (the Chief), the programme started at 10 a.m., so by 4 p.m., people started to leave the place. But there were other things, so some were still there,” he stated.
The chief reportedly told police that at around 7 p.m., whilst seeing off one of the guests, someone came running to inform him that gunshots had been fired at the venue. He rushed back, only to find two women lying on the ground. He immediately arranged transport to take them to hospital.
ACP Sarpong confirmed that the chief is currently in police custody to assist with investigations.
A close friend of the deceased, Mary Hammond, was with her at the time of the shooting. She recounted that Pearl had been serving guests at the ceremony and had stepped out briefly to accompany the caterer.
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“After a long wait for a vehicle, she finally hired a vehicle for her guest and came back to sit by me near an ice chest,” Mary recalled.
“She then took her phone and started fidgeting with it, only to hear a series of gunshots. By the time I realised, she was sprawling on the ground,” she added.
Panicked and calling for help, Mary said she rushed to Pearl’s side.
“I lifted her and saw blood oozing from her head. I also saw that a woman in front of her was also hit by the bullet,” she explained.
Mary noted that she did not see where the shots came from, nor the individuals who fired them.
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Prior to the attack, she said some young men had been firing muskets during the celebration — a traditional practice that did not initially raise alarm.
Mary further revealed that the queenmother had been enstooled about three months earlier and was due to be publicly introduced in an official ceremony before the tragic incident occurred.