Kidnap trial: Accused rearrested after court release

The trial of the 19-year-old Junior High School (JHS) student by the Akyem Swedru Circuit Court for allegedly kidnapping a 20-year-old female JHS student, took a dramatic turn when the police rearrested the accused after he had been discharged by the court.

The accused, Joseph Prah, a JHS 2 student of Akyem Manso appeared before the court last Monday after being remanded in police custody for allegedly kidnapping Georgina Ama Amenyo, a JHS 3 student from Akyem Anamase.

In his ruling, the presiding judge, Mr Alexander Oworae, said: “The facts do not support the charge levelled against the accused.”

“Even though the accused pleaded guilty, in the interest of justice, therefore, the matter will be struck out. Accused is discharged,” he added.

As soon as Prah was discharged and went out of the courtroom, the police rearrested him to face another trial since the whereabouts of the girl is still not known.

Reasons

Giving reason why the accused was rearrested in an interview with the Daily Graphic at Oda last Monday, the Oda Divisional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr F.S. Adikah, said Joseph Prah still had a case to answer.

He said since the accused had confessed accommodating the missing girl for a night and her brassier, cover cloth and a pair of shoes were found in his bedroom, he had to assist the police to trace the whereabouts of Georgina.

Facts

The facts of the case as presented by the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Fabian Sallah, were that at about 4 a.m. on January 12, 2019, Georgina, a JHS 3 student, left her home at Anamase but failed to return.

On January 24, 2019, Georgina’s mother, Madam Esther Bradu, following her own investigations, traced her secret boyfriend, Prah, to Akyem Manso and questioned him of the whereabouts of her daughter.

Admittance

Prah admitted having accommodated Georgina for one day, but claimed that he saw her off the following day to return to Anamase.

When Georgina still failed to return home, her mother lodged a complaint with the police resulting in the arrest of Prah on January 28, 2019 to assist the police in investigations into the matter.

During police interrogation, Prah insisted that he saw the girl off at Manso on January 13, 2019.