Prosecution of suspected rapist stalled… As courts go on recess

THE PROSECUTION of a 28year old Gym Instructor, Eric Adjei Barwuah, who was arrested by the police for allegedly raping a 19 year old seamstress in the early hours of Wednesday, would have to wait for sometime, The Chronicle can confirm.

This follows futile attempt by the Police in Kumasi to present the suspect before court for prosecution, after it emerged that Judicial Service was on recess and may not resume work until the 18th of October, 2009.

The prosecutor of the case was forced to send Adjei Barwuah back into custody after failing to get a court to hear the case. But the police in Kumasi say it hopes to secure legal order that would keep Adjei Barwuah in police custody until resumption of work by the courts.

The suspect, who claims to be an Instructor of a Body Building Gym in Accra, was alleged to have subjected his victim, a 19 year old seamstress from Nungua, to bestial and animalistic sexual ordeal at an open drinking spot at the Asafo Market Bus terminal in the full glare of the public, at dawn on Wednesday.

The victim, according to the police, had arrived at the Bus terminal to board a car back to Accra after paying her sister a visit when she was seized by her attacker and dragged into a taxi cab.

The well built Adjei Barwuah allegedly forced the lady, who was crying for help, into a taxi he had beckoned to stop and instructed the driver of the vehicle to drive ahead, after threatening to kill the taxi driver if he failed to heed to his instructions.

Fearing for his life, the driver drove the two away in his taxi, and upon getting to a nearby car washing bay, which also hosts a drinking spot, Adjei ordered the driver to park and quickly pulled the poor girl and made straight into the drinking spot where he reportedly pulled-off his trousers and put on a condom before having a sexual intercourse with the victim.

On-lookers could not go to the rescue of the poor girl for fear that Adjei, who is notoriously known in the area for brutalizing people and depriving them of their possessions, may attack them.

The victim also told the police Adjei Barwuah robbed her of an amount of ¢30GH which was in her possession before she was attacked. But the suspect, has meanwhile, told the police that he did not rape her victim, as is being claimed.

Even though he admitted having sex with the complainant, Adjei said the victim consented to it, but she was dilly dallying when he asked her to follow him to his house, after collecting ¢10GH cash from him. The Police say Adjei would be charged on two counts of rape and robbery.