Wa public flogging: Police arrest 25 for rioting
“The irate mob pelted the charge office and adjoining offices with stones and other implements. The youth also set vehicle tires ablaze on some major streets in the Municipality.
The Ghana Police says it has arrested 25 persons in Wa for rioting and attempting to set free three suspects in police custody who had been detained for flogging two adults at the palace of the Wa Naa on Tuesday.
“The irate mob pelted the charge office and adjoining offices with stones and other implements. The youth also set vehicle tires ablaze on some major streets in the Municipality.
In addition, they emptied the contents of dust bins on these roads and caused damage to some street lights and poles as well as some private properties along these roads. The rioting mob also blocked the major streets obstructing the free movement of vehicles, ”a police statement describing the incident said.
The statement added that the mob action was done to derail the course of justice for victims who were flogged in viral videos that circulated.
Groups like the Ghana Bar Association and Amnesty International Ghana have condemned the flogging incident, calling for the prosecution of the perpetrators.
The GBA for instance has directed its Women and Minors Rights Committee to take up the matter closely, by monitoring and offering the required legal assistance to the victims.
On Wednesday, the police arrested three suspects, 62-year-old Sidiki Osman, 32-year-old Bushiran Khigir, and 70-year-old Issahaku Mahama for the flogging of two adults at the palace of the Wa Naa.
In videos that circulated online, the pair, said to be lovers, were shown tied to a pole and flogged on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, over an alleged leaked sex tape.
“The suspects were arrested with the support of the Wa Naa and some community members. The three will be taken through the due process of the law. The Police are pursuing the remaining suspects to arrest them to face justice,” a police statement dated June 1, 2022 confirmed the arrest of the three.
According to the perpetrators of the crime, it was wrong for them to have filmed their sexual act and the public flogging was punishment for tarnishing the reputation of the town and for engaging in an act that is frowned upon by Islam.
