Sherina Mohammed, aka Hajia Filipina, aged 40, who is currently remanded in Police custody in Tamale, has reported to the Tamale High Court that she is pregnant and must be given bail.
Hajia Filipina is one of two women suspects being held in custody in Tamale, for allegedly instigating the gruesome lynching of a 90-year-old woman on claims of witchcraft sometime last year.
The lynching of 90-year-old, Akua Denteh, at Kafaba near Salaga in the Gonja East Municipality of the Savannah Region had raised a general furore and disgust throughout the country. Appearing before the court, Hajia Filipina’s lawyer, Abass Kalimba Amankwa, applied for a bail for his client on the grounds that “she is pregnant.” He therefore pleaded with the court presided over by Justice Richard M. Kogyapwah to grant her bail.
It is unclear how the ringleader in the Akua Denteh’s gruesome lynching, could have become pregnant while in custody after her arrest in July 2020 (some eight months ago).
The case of the pregnancy initially came up on February 22, during case management, but the order from the court for the pregnancy test was made on March 16, 2021.
The State Attorney prosecuting the case, Francis Ayamwuni Asobayire, objected to the application, insisting that there was no medical record to prove that the accused was pregnant.
The Tamale High Court 1, after hearing arguments from the prosecution and defence counsel, however, said that in the interest of justice the accused person should undertake a pregnancy test, and subsequently made an order for the test to be done to enable the court to determine the bail.
Later the State Attorney told DAILY GUIDE that whether the accused person was confirmed pregnant or not, it would not affect the court process.
He indicated that the state had lined up three attorneys namely Francis Ayamwuni Asobayire, Linda Anibrika and Gertrude Johnson to ensure that the case is fast tracked to avoid unnecessary adjournments.
He disclosed that the prosecution would present its witnesses on the adjourned date which was March 29, 2021 and March 30, 2021.
Main Case
Hajia Filipina and Latifah Bumaye, 25, a trader believed to be an associate of the ringleader in the Akua Denteh lynching, have pleaded not guilty to conspiracy, murder and trial by ordeal.
The prosecution told the court that the accused persons took the victim through unlawful trial which the laws of Ghana did not allow, by compelling her to drink some concoction to prove she was not a witch resulting in her death for which they had been arraigned.
The gruesome lynching of Akua Denteh, which sparked outrage, occurred at Kafaba near Salaga in the East Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region last year.
The case was transferred from the Bole District Magistrate Court in the Savannah Region to the Tamale High Court.
Initially, five men namely Haruna Anass, 34; Issahaka Tanko, 35; Shaibu Murtala, 29; Sulemana Ali, 35; and Issahaka Sachebu, 32, were arrested in connection with the lynching but they were subsequently discharged.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tamale