Nana Poku Antoh III reportedly banished the primary six pupil of the Tutukpene Municipal Assembly Basic School on Friday, April 24 after he was allegedly caught breaking into a room that same day.
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Police give paramount chief 48 hours to produce primary 6 pupil he banished
The Paramount Chief of Tutukpene in the Oti Region and his elders have just 48 hours to produce a 17-year-old boy they had banished for stealing or face the rigors of the law.
Police give paramount chief 48 hours to produce primary 6 pupil he banished or be dealt with
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But superintendent Lawson Lartey, the Municipal Police Commander of the Oti Region, summoned the community leadership over the matter and ordered them to produce the victim or face the legal consequences.
He condemned the action of the community, educating them that the practice of banishment is illegal and an abusive act which is a total violation of the rights of the victims.
The police boss further advised that traditional leaders should work more with State structures in fighting crime, and asked that they aligned customs and traditions to fundamental human rights.
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According to the Ghana News Agency, the Chief is said to have prohibited anyone from tracing the boy, with his family expressing fear of losing him to hunger and disease.
“My son can die of hunger or be affected by this Coronavirus”, Afua Amoah, mother of the boy said, and appealed to the public to help find him.
Traditional leaders used to wield a lot of power before the inception of constitutional democracy including banishment among others but their authority has been limited as the 1992 constitution supersedes every rule.
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