Rape Scandal: Damongo Hospital Staff Declare Sit-Down Strike

Staff of the Damongo hospital in the Northern region have declared a sit-down strike accusing police of wrongful arrest and prosecution of their colleague alleged to have raped an Italian national on admission five days ago.

Local executives of the Ghana Nurses and Midwifery Association in the district have currently visited the hospital appealing to the staff to rescind the decision.

Public Relations of the Association, Justice Parmak , told Starr News the staff are angry and traumatized by the way the police are treating their colleague.

He said the staff have refused to resume duties until their colleague, who they maintained was accused wrongly, is released and discharged.

Background

Ernest Green, 28 was arrested on Sunday after the Italian embassy in Accra informed police about receiving a rape report from a national who was on tour at the Mole Game Reserve in the West Gonja district.

The victim, Daniela Maltiti later told police the suspect groped her for several moment before taking his breast into mouth and had unprotected sex with her on last Friday night at a private facility of the hospital.

She said she was too weak to climb back to her bedroom after using the washroom and the suspect raped her uninterruptedly after offering her assistance to her bed.

He appeared before a circuit court in Tamale presided over by His Lordship Justice Ansah, yesterday and was remanded to reappear on April 26, 2016.

The staff of the hospital are challenging the account given by the alleged victim and accused the police of bias treatment against their colleague.

The staff earlier yesterday stoned some armed police investigators who had arrived with the suspect in handcuffed at the facility to investigate the crime scene.

The hospital authorities and senior officers of the health directorate in the district have all said their investigations show the incident didn’t occur and urged for fair police probe and trial.

The staff said background checks on the lady showed a “desperate” and financially “stranded” person with intention to cheat the facility using the rape allegation as a plot.

Investigation shows she was evicted from her hotel for non payment of bills at the Mole Game Reserve where she came on tour and came to the Damongo hospital without money or any health insurance document.

Meanwhile, the Regional executives of the Registered Nurses and Midwifery Association has criticized as “unfortunate”, the decision by a court to demand the suspect.

Regional Secretary of the Association, Alhassan Abubakari slammed the police for spreading inaccurate account of the incident and presenting same before the court.

He said it was said the police was handling the case in a “particular way” in favor of the victim because of the her nationality.

He also denounced the account by the victim and indicated the Association will follow the case to its legal conclusion.

Source: Starrfmonline