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Is Maame Dokono a victim of political vendetta?
Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanadot

Accra, Feb 17, Ghanadot - In recent times, the Ghanaian media landscape has been saturated with a sodomy saga which led to the closure of an orphanage known as Peace and Love Orphanage by the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DoVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service.

The orphanage was owned by ace actress, gender activist and politician, Maame Dokono. Consequently she was arrested and charged for exposing children to harm as stipulated by the Children's Act.

This was because under the Act, a person under 12 years could not be charged with a criminal offence but rather the parent or guardian of the child.

The reason given for Maami Dorkun's arrest was that an eight year old boy allegedly sodomised a six month old baby and secondly they claimed that the orphanage has been operating illegally since its license has not been renewed since 2006.

This has obviously created a lot of agitations in the country amid protests by some supporters of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) at the DoVVSU office in Accra.

Maame Dokono, who campaigned vehemently against the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government in the 2008 elections said a lot of unprintable words about that party when it was the opposition party.

Many therefore think that the current arrest of Maami Dorkuno was a political vandetta and that NDC is using its powers to deal drastically with the actress cum politician,  Obviously, others in the NDC think otherwise.

However, the big question left unaswerred by the DoVVSU was why  Maame Dokono's orphanage been operating since 2006 if it was unlicensed and therefore illegal outfit? Did the authorities not know that her license had expired? And why did the authorities wait for almost three years to act?

An important outfit of the nature that deals with emotionally disturbed and highly vulnerable children that operates illegally should be closed down immediately.  The reality of Maami Dorkunno's situation was that that the closure was delayed for over two years and this is what has created skepticism in many minds about the political intentions behind the scene.

There central concern now is why the people in charge of DoVVSU, who caused a two years delay in their supervisory duties, should not be arrested for negligence?  The sad part is also the possibility that If the Peace and Love Orphanage has been operating for two years without license then there many more institutions of similar nature in the country doing the same.  This point is a reasonable conclusion to make.

It is also absurd to observe that way the police went down to Maami Dorkunoo's orphanage and the rude arrest and interrogations that followed.  It all smacks of political vindictiveness and an opportunity by the police to curry favor with the current government.

A procedure that deals with the nature of the case should have been created long ago rather than to resort to impulse and brutal force to accomplish something that delicate.

Was the management of the orphanage notified that they were operating illegally, how many warnings were given? Also, do our child protection agencies really carry out proper period checks to these institutions? We need to have some answers to these questions.

As to the 8-year old boy who committed the despicable act of sodomising a 6-year old baby, I would say though it can't be thoroughly prevented, if the right checks and procedures are put in place, some of these acts could avoided.

Again, I blame the authorities as well as staff and owner of the Peace and Love Orphanage for not putting effective and efficient monitoring systems in place to deter the boy(s) from this ungodly act.

Legally, if Maame Dokono did not abet the crime, she could not be apprehended for it. But she should cooperate with the Department of Social Welfare and the police to carry out the necessary investigations.

The sad thing is that the eventual losers are the poor children if things turn sour. What would happen to the majority of children who are enjoying in the orphanage? And if what has happened is an isolated incident, would the authorities deprive the other orphans of new found home and parental cares.

I believe this has no political undertone. Let's us have trust in our state institutions and desist from reading political meaning to activities. This does not augur well for a country like Ghana which has won global recognition in democracy.

Ghanadot

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