Police Investigator Fingered In Defilement Case At EP School In Tamale

ASP Emmanuel Holortu

A follow up investigations by Savannahnews into the defilement case involving a teacher and 10 of his pupils at the Evangelical Presbyterian (EP) School in Tamale have led to some unavoidable revelations which sought to implicate the investigators from the Ghana Police Service as it bothers on their religious and tribal affiliations to the suspects. 

As a result, some teachers at the EP School who seem highly uncomfortable with the situation are now calling on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Chief Justice to show personal interest in the defilement case to avoid any form of compromise or favouritism. 

The suspected teacher, David Ananga and his accomplice Fredrick Akoto Mawunya are currently in remand at the Tamale Central Prisons for allegedly sleeping with a 14 year old girl [name withheld], impregnating her and secretly terminating the pregnancy. David Ananga also slept with 9 other pupils with Fredrick Akoto giving out his room as a “sanctuary” for defilement.  

However, some teachers at the EP school told Savannahnews that the two suspects who had allegedly messed up with so many female pupils in the school were likely to enjoy some undeserving favours since they [the suspects] had direct “religious and tribal relationship” with the Northern Regional Coordinator of the Domestic Violence Victims and Support Unit (DOVVSU), ASP Emmanuel Holortu and his team of Investigators.

The two suspects and the Regional DOVVSU Boss are said to come from the same region [name withheld] and are also in the same church, Evangelical Presbyterian Church. According to the teachers, the second suspect, Akoto Mawunya who is allegedly an orphan was raised or adopted by the leadership of the EP Church at a tender age till he completed his professional training in teaching. 

They are therefore of the view that the Church in trying to safeguard its image and the image of the school could prevail on the chief investigator of the case who is also member of the church to be laissez-faire or shelve some of the vital evidences against the suspects.

Savannahnews gathered that the Headmistress of the EP Primary School Block B’, Patience Anna Kuagbenu who is also deeply implicated in the case is also a half tribe mate of the Chief investigator and the suspects.

The paper was hinted that the Headmistress was first to detect that the girl was over four months pregnant and quickly called the “Bonking teacher”, David Ananga who was by then transferred to the Zogbeli Block B’ primary school to come and take her to the hospital. 

She [the Headmistress] was purported to have asked the suspect who is said to be her best friend to quickly get a doctor to abort the pregnancy to avoid much suspicion, even though some female teachers were already suspecting the girl.

After the abortion, the Headmistress, Patience Anna Kuagbenu according to the teachers went with the girl to an unnamed drugstore and bought a certain medicine called “Tot’hema Iron Manganese Copper”. 

The teachers alleged that in 2013 exactly on 30^th November [Saturday], the same teacher David Ananga instructed one female teacher, Hafia Sulemana to take that same girl [now at age 14] for an abortion, and that that day was the day the suspect, David was having his marriage ceremony in the Volta region. “He [David] first wanted his best friend and usual accomplice Fredrick Akoto to take the girl to a doctor for the abortion but unfortunately he [Akoto] was writing an examination at the Valley View University in Techiman and that was why he [David] asked the female teacher to do it for him,” the teachers said. 

Suspects in Defilement Case

According to them, several cases of defilement had been reported to the Headmistress against David Ananga by some female pupils in time past but she had always refused to take action and was rather quick to shut the girls up or they face punishment. 

Savannahnews gathered that David and the EP school authorities led by the Headmistress tried to “pay off” the parents of the girl with an amount of “GHC5,000” and another “GHC2,000” to one chief in Tamale [name withheld] to ensure that the matter was settled at home but their attempt got backfired. David was then set up by an uncle of the victim who laid ambush with the youth of the area and arrested him and handed him over to the Police.

Savannahnews also gathered that the abortion was conducted in the residence of an unidentified doctor who is alleged to be a staff of the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

Meanwhile, when contacted by Savannahnews at his office in Tamale, ASP Emmanuel Holortu, the Northern Regional DOVVSU Coordinator denied being a member of the EP Church. According to the soft spoken DOVVSU Regional Boss he was rather a proud member of Roman Catholic Church but admitted his tribal affiliation with the suspects.

However, Mr. Holortu said “the fact that they speak one language with me does not mean that they are bigger than the law. This is a criminal case of defilement and abortion and as a professional and a passionate DOVVSU Coordinator with proven track record, I will never ever dream of taking sides in a matter like this. Besides, this matter was reported to us by the media and all of them are still showing much interest in the case, apart from the fact that the matter is now being handled by the State Attorney in court. We are only investigating it and nothing else”.

The DOVVSU Coordinator also expressed disappointment at the teachers for making such unsubstantiated allegations against him. He said that the teachers were all part of the problems in the school since none of them was able to report to the DOVVSU for action to be taken. 

When contacted by Savannahnews on the whereabouts of the Headmistress and the doctor who performed the abortion, ASP Emmanuel Holortu, said that the Headmistress was also picked up by the Police for questioning and her statement taken, but the Doctor he said had since gone into hiding.

He said that an arrest warrant was issued by the Police for his arrest but several search for him had failed since he had for now vacated his residence.

The DOVVSU Boss said that the Police were now relying on the people in the neighbourhood for information about him. But Mr. Holortu failed to drop the name of the said doctor to Savannahnews.