Bolgatanga: Military officer allegedly rapes 18-year-old girl, residents demand justice

Residents of Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region are demanding justice for an 18-year-old girl (name withheld) who was allegedly raped by a man identified as a military officer.

The incident happened just four days after the 18-year-old was employed.

Asaase News has gathered that on Monday, 2 September 2024, the military officer, whose name has not been disclosed, checked into the Siim Lina Guest House in Soe, a suburb of Bolgatanga, around 9am.

Recounting the ordeal, the victim said, “He came around somewhere around 9am. When I gave him the room, he paid me GHC150 for the full day. He said he wanted me and I said, ‘Want me like how?’ Then he said he likes me and I said, ‘Okay, thank you.’ He loved me and I said, ‘I’m not interested.’ Then he said he was going to marry me and I said, ‘No, I’m not interested. I don’t want to marry him.”

The officer, according to the victim, did not end his pursuit there. He began to issue veiled threats, saying, ‘The way I’m talking, no one is here. If somebody is going to wound me, what will I do?’ And I said, ‘I will not do anything. I will leave the fellow to God.”

After a while, another lady came to visit the officer but stayed only for a short while. In her attempt to carry on her usual duties, the officer attacked her.

“I picked up water with a bucket. I said, ‘I’m going to water the trees.’ So when I turned to pick up the bucket, he just pulled me by my hair and removed the scissors. He said if I joked, he would wound me here. He now pulled my hair and pulled me to the other room. He raped me. When he finished, he snapped pictures of me and he was now talking to me. I was now quiet. I was afraid.”

The owner of the guest house, Paulina Adongo, confirmed the incident, stating that the soldier was apprehended by concerned neighbours after the victim raised an alarm.

Military officers from the Abilba Barracks were subsequently called to the scene and took the alleged rapist into custody.

While the military has not yet officially responded to the issue, Asaase News has learned that the military may have begun an independent investigation into the matter.

Reporting by Mark Smith in the Upper East Region

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