By Philip Tengzu, GNA
Wa, (UW/R), Sept. 14, GNA – Ahmed Rashid, the 35-year-old man standing trial in a Wa Circuit Court for alleged serial defilement, has concluded his defence in the last three dockets that had been built in the case.
The prosecution is expected to file written addresses on the three dockets on October 17, 2023, pending a date to be set for the final determination by the court.
One of the dockets involved one victim, aged about 13 years, who said the accused person had sex with her several times but chose to testify in three counts, two in 2022 and one in May 2023.
Another docket involved one victim and the third docket involved three victims, one of whom the accused person said was his cousin.
All the victims in those dockets were aged between 12 and 14 years.
Throughout the cross-examination in the three dockets, the accused person denied having canal knowledge of the minors mentioned in those dockets.
Ahmed Rashid argued that aside from his cousin, he did not know of the other victims accusing him of having sexual intercourse with them.
When questioned whether the victims had been to his house before, Ahmed Rashid answered in the negative.
However, Mr Saeed Abdul Shakur, a Principal State Attorney in the Upper West Region, told the court presided over by Jonathan Avogo that the survivors told the police, which side of the room the accused person had sex with them when they were taken to the accused person’s room after his arrest.
The Principal State Attorney, who is the lead prosecutor in the case, said the accused person took a period when the wife left her matrimonial home to live with her sister as a “birthday gift” to perpetuate his act of defiling the girls, but the accused person denied.
According to Mr Shakur, Anaata’s wife, in a statement to the police, said she had problems with Anaata because of his relationship with girls but Anaata again denied it.
When he was questioned whether he had his sister’s (one of the victim’s mother’s) phone contact number off-head, the accused person answered in the negative and said he had no business with the sister to keep her number off-head.
The prosecutor, therefore, put it to the accused person that he had business with the girls the reason why they kept his phone contact number off-head, and that the business was “sex for food” and “sex for GH₵10.00,” but the accused person denied that.
Mr Shakur said though the accused person vehemently denied the allegations levelled against him, he believed the state had a strong case against the accused person and had proven that through the cross-examination.
The accused person, who still had no lawyer, moved a bail application, but the prosecutor vehemently opposed the bail application on the condition that the accused person would evade trial.
Mr Avogo, the Presiding Judge, ruling on the bail application, said the previous conduct of the accused person of absconding when the alarm was raised for his arrest was enough evidence that he would evade justice if released on bail.
Meanwhile, the court had set October 17, 2023 to give judgment on one of the four dockets.
GNA