General News of Thursday, 28 October 2021
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2021-10-28He promised to send me abroad – Daughter of embattled NDC guru tells court
Kwesi Dawood has been accused of having an incestuous relationship with his daughter
• Kwesi Dawood is facing charges of defilement, incest, illegal abortion and assault against his daughter
• The NDC has suspended him over the case
• The girl gave her testimony in court on Wednesday, October 27, 2021
A Cape Coast Circuit Court has heard the testimony of the daughter of the embattled Communications Officer of the
Read full articleNational Democratic Congress in the Central region, Emmanuel Kwesi Dawood.
According to a GNA report, the daughter told the judge, Mrs. Dorinda Smith Arthur, that in 2019, her father lured her into his matrimonial home and informed her that he wanted to replace his love for her mother with her since their love could not last long.
She went on to tell the court on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, that she declined a proposal to date him, but the accused ignored and forcibly had sexual intercourse with her in his matrimonial room at Agona-Swedru. She also claimed that their last sexual act was in the month of June 2021 at Agona-Swedru.
Although Dawood had, on Wednesday, October 13, pleaded not guilty to the charges of defilement, incest, illegal abortion and assault levelled against him, he was remanded by the court but later managed to secure bail at a higher court the following day.
“After the act, my father promised to send me abroad only if I did not disclose the ordeal to anyone, but if I did, he would make my life very miserable.
“In 2020, I got pregnant but my father took me to Atta Mensah who is his friend to abort the pregnancy and I informed the school counsellor about it,” the daughter is quoted to have said.
She went on to tell that court that she fled after her father, upon finding out that she had informed the school counsellor, attacked and subjected her to severe beatings.
The court will sit again on Tuesday, November 2, 2021, to hear the continuation of the case.
Background
A case of incest has been levelled against the National Democratic Congress’ Central Regional Communication Director, Emmanuel Kwesi Dawood.
According to a report by the Daily Guide newspaper, the NDC executive allegedly had sex with his underage daughter, impregnating her in the process.
The paper continued that Emmanuel Dawood had been having uncarnal knowledge with his daughter since 2019 when she was 15-years-old, leading to her getting pregnant.
“He then allegedly got his friend to administer an injection to terminate the pregnancy last year, and according to the victim, she bled for more than two weeks,” the paper reported.
In the accounts of the girl, she explained how badly hurt she has been by the act, vowing to seek justice at all cost.
“It has been haunting me. He made me go for an abortion. He started having sex with me in 2019. The last time he had sex with me was June 2021. He was NADMO Coordinator and is the current NDC Regional Communications Officer. He did not look after me,” the girl is reported to have said.
The paper also reported that the girl claimed that her father had beaten her up when he found out that she had reported the incestuous act to her mother, following which the case was reported to the Swedru police.
“My mother was not happy for me to leave and go and stay with him. He promised to send me abroad to further my education and warned that if I reveal the act to anybody, he was going to end the plans to send me out for my education,” she is reported to have added.
Daily Guide further reports that after failed attempts to get the police at Swedru to pursue the case, the girl’s mother moved it to the Central Regional Commander, COP Kwadwo Antwi Tabi.
It was after this attempt that the commander, getting a briefing on all the facts of the case, ordered for the appropriate charges to be levelled against the suspect.
The mother of the victim also explained attempts by some officials of the NDC who have been trying to get her to not pursue the case.
“NDC officials have been coming to us to plead for him but I have made it clear that it is a criminal case and he has to face the full rigours of the law. My daughter has been in distress and has said she needs nothing but justice,” she is reported to have said.
She is also reported to have said that she suffered a similar fate and it is for this reason that she intends to pursue this case till justice is served.
“He impregnated me when I was in the first year in secondary school. He is doing the same thing to our own daughter. I do not know if he was brought into this world to destroy our lives.
“He abandoned me after the pregnancy and never saw him until my daughter grew up and he came for her,” she is said to have said.
The case is due to be called in court on October 13, 2021, with charges of conspiracy to commit crime, defilement, incest and illegal abortion expected to be slapped on the NDC executive.
The mother of the victim has also called for the Inspector General of Police to intervene in the case to ensure that it is not thrown out without the right punishments meted out to Emmanuel Kwesi Dawood.
