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4 clusters · 13 sources · 21 days · First seen · Last updated

Categories: CRIME

Ghana child defilement prosecutions

Entities: Upper West Regional Police Command · Lawra Circuit Court · Kwame Ti-Zaarkuu · Lawra, Ghana · Ghana

Overview

In July 2026 Ghana’s courts continued to impose lengthy hard‑labour sentences for child sexual abuse in the Upper West Region. The Wa High Court upheld a ten‑year term for self‑styled Imam Ilyasu Kunateh, who on 17 January offered a seven‑year‑old a motorcycle ride, took the child to a secluded area behind the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council and sexually assaulted him. Justice Osei Antwi‑Wusu ruled the evidence sufficient for conviction, reinforcing prosecutors’ warnings of a growing pattern of child molestation.

On the same day the Lawra Circuit Court sentenced 47‑year‑old Kwame Ti‑Zaaekuu (also reported as Kwame Ti‑Zaarkuu) to 20 years for incest and a concurrent 10‑year term for threatening his 17‑year‑old daughter. His Honour Stanley Adjei presided, and the Upper West Regional Police Command, led by DCOP Francis Yiribare, highlighted that the abuse spanned an extended period and was concealed by repeated death threats. The court ordered the Department of Social Welfare in Lawra to provide counselling and psychosocial support to the survivor.

A concurrent anonymous confession on Asempa FM’s Bibiaa Bibiaa programme expressed remorse for a long‑standing compulsive sexual behaviour toward a daughter, underscoring broader concerns about sexual and gender‑based violence in Ghana.

Timeline

  1. about 8 hours ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources
    Lawra, Ghana Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Incest of Daughter

    Kwame Ti-Zaarkuu, 47, was sentenced in Lawra, Ghana to 20 years' hard‑labour prison for incest and a concurrent 10‑year term for threatening his 17‑year‑old daughter, after a trial in the Lawra Circuit Court.

  2. 3 days ago

    [CRIME] 6 sources
    Ghana Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Incest and Threats

    Ghana court sentences Kwame Ti‑Zaaekuu to 20 years for incest and threats, while a separate radio confession reveals another father's admission of incest, highlighting abuse concerns.

  3. 3 days ago

    [CRIME] 6 sources
    Imam Ilyasu Kunateh Sentenced to 10 Years for Child Defilement in Ghana's Wa

    Ghana's Wa High Court sentenced Imam Ilyasu Kunateh to 10 years hard labour for defiling a 7‑year‑old boy, based on child testimony and medical evidence.

  4. 21 days ago

    [CRIME] 2 sources
    Ghana courts impose harsh penalties in Somanya child defilement cases

    Ghana’s Odumase‑Krobo Circuit Court sentenced a tricycle driver to 20 years for HIV‑related child defilement and remanded a mason over alleged defilement of a two‑year‑old in Somanya.

Sources

adomonline.com · brisbanetimes.com.au · gbcghanaonline.com · ghananewspage.com · gharticles.com · myjoyonline.com · mynewsgh.com · newscentral.africa · nyasatimes.com · theage.com.au · thevoicenewsmagazine.com · upperwestmedia.net · watoday.com.au

This summary has been updated 1 time: see revision history