Government has assured that it will seek justice for the family of the 11-year-old boy who was allegedly killed by two teenagers for rituals at Kasoa in the Central region.
This was disclosed by the Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan, yesterday when she paid a visit to the family.
“We promise the family that the justice the family is asking for will be given to them. I know that the steps we are taking will bring the justice the family is demanding,” Ms Assan said.
She indicated that the family would receive the body of the deceased today, to pave the way for the necessary arrangements for burial.
“By tomorrow, the family will receive Ishmael’s body, so we can do the needful. Regional Police Commander will come on Friday to assist with the necessary arrangements as well,” she said.
The Regional Minister was accompanied by the Regional Police Commander, DCOP Mrs Habiba Twumasi Sarpong, and Awutu Senya East MCE, Michael Essuman Mensah.
The incident
The two teenagers, Felix Nyarko, 16, and Nicholas Kini, 17, were arrested by the Kasoa Divisional Police Command for allegedly killing the 11-year-old boy supposedly for money rituals at Coca Cola, near Lamptey Mills, a suburb of Kasoa.
Some eyewitnesses said the suspects allegedly lured the deceased, known as Ishmael Mensah by his peers, into an uncompleted building and smashed his head with a club and cement blocks, killing him instantly.
They subsequently buried him in the building.
Police say the suspects planned to recover the body at midnight for the supposed rituals.
GJA sanction
Meanwhile, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has promised to crack the whip on media houses that disregard the ethical codes of journalism.
This follows concerns that the two suspects may have been influenced by money rituals content they watched on TV.
The President of GJA, Roland Affail Monney, said media houses that fail to abide by the ethical values of journalism will be sanctioned.
“GJA believes that the time has come to take a hard look and put a stop to the production and consumption of toxic content on our networks. We have trained and retrained journalists on the ethical values which underpin our profession, but the level of recklessness and waywardness in the media has gotten to a point where we need to apply the law. Anything which is inconsistent with national morality, if you violate it, I think the law should take its course,” he said in a radio interview.
GIBA
The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) is also advocating a broader stakeholder conversation on what standards society expects of broadcasters in the country.
The Executive Director of GIBA, Andrews Danso Aninkorah, told the media a broader discussion and training would help shape content management.
“We need a lot of discussions and training. We need to come to an understanding of what standard society expects of broadcasters. We cannot act irresponsibly. In doing our work, it is very important we take all these things into consideration,” he said.
George Sarpong, the Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission, has also made a similar call for tighter regulation of the media space.
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