'Kayayo' girl turns to chicken

... Rumour Sends Accra Central Berserk The rumour of yet another freak sent thousands of gullible city dwellers on a wild goose chase to the Accra Central Police Station yesterday. In their mad rush, none of those involved in the stampede could tell the origin of the rumour but they claimed a 'kayayoo' at the central business district had been turned into a fowl through some magic. The madness spread very far, engulfing many, including pickpockets, hawkers and wanderers with nothing to do, who charged to the station and the police had to call in re-enforcement to keep them at bay.

It brought frightening memories of the past when people were lynched in daylight following rumours that a handshake with them caused male sexual organs to disappear.

This was later discovered as a ploy by criminals to rob innocent people of their money.

Yesterday's commotion brought activities around the central business area to a standstill and the road in front of the police station was blocked, making it impossible for vehicles and pedestrians to move freely.

When the Graphic got to the scene, people were converging on the central business area where which the police station is located to catch a glimpse of both the 'kayayoo' and the magician rumoured to have cast the spell on her.

According to Ms Yaa Sarpong, a hawker, who claimed to have been told of the incident by a head porter, some 'kayayei' were standing at a spot near the Graphic Road when a man summoned one of them to come and take some money.

She said when the “kayayoo” approached the man he allegedly dropped the money and as soon as the girl picked it, she was transformed into a fowl, in the full glare of motorists and some pedestrians on the road.

Some of the people at the police station claimed that the rest of the “kayayei” immediately raised an alarm, which attracted other people to the scene.

They made a move to attack the man but he was promptly rescued by some policemen who happened to be controlling the traffic in the area and he was sent to the police station.

When the Accra Regional Police Commander, Mr Douglas Akrofi Asiedu, was contacted, he said some traders had been arrested early in the morning for selling on the streets.

He indicated that soon after that, some people followed up to the station, claiming that a man and a fowl had been brought to the station by some policemen.

Mr Asiedu said he checked from the station and was told that the claim was false so he dismissed it and went into his office.

The Commander said he was in his office when he was informed that the crowd had increased and had become uncontrollable. So he quickly mobilised his men, who drove the crowd away from the compound on to the streets.

He said not everybody left the police station, and as of the time of going to press, the crowd was still waiting to catch a glimpse of the man and the fowl.

In a related development, hundreds of porters, popularly known as 'kayayei', besieged the Cocoa Affairs Court premises in Accra early last morning to catch a glimpse of a colleague of theirs who was alleged to have transformed into a fowl after picking up a ¢20,000 note from the ground reports Mabel Aku Baneseh.

The porters followed a police vehicle in which they believed their bewitched colleague was being transported to the court premises from the Accra Central Police Station.

The presence of the large number of the porters forced policemen in the court premises to close all the gates leading to the courts.

That action did not deter porters who climbed walls on order to enter the court premises to catch a glimpse of the 'fowl' they claimed was there.

Their action disrupted court proceedings for some time as lawyers and court clerks drew closer to the scene to ascertain what was causing the commotion.

The crowd, which hung aroud from about 8.30 a.m. till 10 a.m. left disappointed when they realised that the information they had been given was false.