The Awutu Bereku District Court, presided over by Mrs Naomi A.A.Kuntour, has remanded six suspects into police custody for assaulting an innocent man in April 2024 at Senya Bereku in the Central Region over an allegation of causing the disappearance of a ‘pragya’ rider’s penis.
The accused persons are Blessings Bonney, Emmanuel Baffoe, Kwame Arhinsan, Richard Quanssah, Gideon Amissah, and Emmanuel Otoo.
Initially, thirty people were arrested, and five were jailed on April 17, 2024, by the Awutu Bereku District Court for raising a false alarm over a missing penis.
At the court on June 12, 2024, two of the suspects were granted bail.
Meanwhile, Prosper Bonney, the ‘pragya’ driver who raised the alarm on his missing penis, which triggered the attack on the innocent man, has been granted bail due to his health condition, while the six persons above are facing charges of causing unlawful harm, assault, and conspiracy to commit a crime, namely causing harm.
A police report indicates that the victim arrived from Accra to visit his girlfriend’s friend, and upon alighting at Senya Bereku township, he boarded a ‘Pragya’ at his girlfriend’s house.
He engaged in a fruitful discussion with the driver and promised to buy him a brand-new vehicle since the one he was using was old.
The victim gave his complimentary card to the driver, instructing him to call anytime he was ready for the new Pragya he promised to buy for him.
The police report indicates that after 30 minutes, the driver and his friends, armed with sticks, stormed the victim’s house and accused him of stealing his penis.
The victim insisted that he had nothing to do with the alleged missing penis, but the suspects failed to listen to his pleas and assaulted him until he lost consciousness.
For the past three months now, there have been a series of allegations of missing penis cases in some parts of the country.
The Ghana Report throws light on some of the recent arrests in relation to false alarms about missing or shrinking male genitals.
- Police Arrest Two Over Alleged Penis Disappearances At Ada Kasseh
The Kasseh Police Command in Ada on June 6, 2024, arrested two persons, Tayabu Eliazu, 35, and Assan Gariba, 24, for alleging that their manhood had disappeared after shaking hands with a stranger around the Kasseh central mosque.
The allegation led to a mob attack on Abubakr Tanko, an Ivorian national who was accused by the two of causing the disappearance of their manhoods.
According to the suspects, Abubakr approached them around the Kasseh mosque at about 2000 hours and requested a place to spend the night, as it was too late for him to continue his journey to Cote d’Ivoire from Benin.
They then introduced Abubakr to the Imam, who informed him that he could not be allowed to sleep in the mosque.
The allegation led to a mob attack on Abubakr Tanko, an Ivorian national who was accused by the two of causing the disappearance of their manhoods.
According to the suspects, Abubakr approached them around the Kasseh mosque at about 2000 hours and requested a place to spend the night, as it was too late for him to continue his journey to Cote d’Ivoire from Benin.
They then introduced Abubakr to the Imam, who informed him that he could not be allowed to sleep in the mosque.
The two arrested men then suggested to him that he sleep around the mosque, as others had been doing, to enable him to rest and continue the journey at dawn.
“We later bought some rice to eat as he was also eating by then; suddenly we both realised the shrinking of our penis, and we suspected him as the one who had caused it because we shook hands with him before going to the Imam,” Tayabu, one of the suspects narrated.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Joseph Atsu Dzineku, the Ada Divisional Police Commander, who confirmed the incident, disclosed that one of the arrested persons, who complained of the missing penis, later claimed that his penis had been restored even though it was not as strong as it used to be, while the other one insisted that it had been reduced in size drastically.
ACP Dzineku said, “We told them that we are not medical officers, and so we can’t determine if what they are saying is true, but for now, we will keep them until the victim is discharged for interrogations to ascertain the facts before knowing our next step of action”.
- Two Siblings Remanded Over Alleged Missing Penis
Two siblings were arrested in Kasoa, located in the Central Region, in April 2024 for raising a false alarm on a missing penis.
The siblings, all males, were arraigned before the Awutu Breku District Court on charges of two counts of conspiracy to commit a crime, publication of false news and assaulting Sampson Nii Annan Oku, an artist, over claims that he caused the disappearance of someone’s penis.
They are Ugochukwu Chilota a 20-year-old trader and Favour Chilota, a 24-year-old sales girl.
At the court presided over by Mrs Naomi A.A.Kuntour on April 21, 2024, Ugochukwu was slapped with additional charges of causing unlawful harm and stealing.
Both pleaded not guilty before the court.
The court then remanded Ugochukwu and Favour into police custody till May 2, 2024.
- Police Arrest Two Over False Claim Of Missing Genital In Ashaiman
The police in a statement on April 7 indicated that two persons had been arrested following an attack on an innocent gentleman purchasing a shirt from a second-hand clothes seller at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region.
It is reported that the manhood of the second-hand clothes seller mysteriously vanished after the victim allegedly touched his shoulder.
Upon the second-hand clothes seller raising an alarm of his missing penis, colleagues around launched an attack on the innocent guy, but the police swiftly intervened.
- Vulcanizer Jailed For False Claims Of Missing Penis
Mohammed Abdul Fatao, a 27-year-old vulcanizer at Kasoa, was arrested and arraigned before the Awutu Breku District Court in April 2024 for falsely claiming that someone had caused his penis to shrink.
A few days later, the court, presided over by Mrs Naomi A. A. Kuntour, convicted and sentenced Fatao on his own plea after he was charged with publishing false news.
The court also fined him an amount of GH₵2,400 in default, serving six months imprisonment.
- Police Arrest Three Persons For Attacking 16-Year-Old Boy Over Alleged Missing Penis
The police in April 2024 arrested three people at Dansoman Shiabu for attacking and beating a 16-year-old boy over an allegation of stealing someone’s manhood.
The victim, Bright Lartey, according to his parents, sustained fractures in his left hand and a head injury after the attack.
His father, Ebenezer Lartey, who did not give details about the suspects’ identities, said they raised a false alarm, which almost cost his son’s life.
Meanwhile, the Central East Regional Police Commander, DCOP Owusu Bempah, has warned that individuals found guilty of publishing false news about a missing penis will face a jail term of three months to one year.
Story By Grace Tsotsoo Quaye