Kenyan Charged For Human Trafficking

Three persons, including a Kenyan businesswoman, are before an Accra Domestic Violence and Gender-Based court for human trafficking.

They are George Badu, trader; Fati Mahammud, secretary and Leah Kalimi, the Kenyan.

According to the prosecutor, DSP C.K. Abadamlora, during the month of July this year, the three conspired at Nima in Accra to traffic one Theresa Fookuo to Saudi Arabia for job placement.

The three have also been slapped with an additional charge of operating a private employment agency without labour incence.

George, Fati and Leah are individually facing another offence of trafficking the said Theresa to Saudi Arabia for labour exploitation.

However, before trial judge Mrs. Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku, the accused persons variously denied the charges and were each admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢50,000  with three sureties each.

The court has also ordered Leah to submit her passport to the registrar of the court until otherwise varied.

Prosecuting, DSP Abadamlora told the court that one Rita Owusu, a trader resident at La Sunshine – all suburbs of Accra – is the complainant.

He said all the accused persons also reside in Accra and that during the month of July, Rita's younger sister (Theresa) who is residing at Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region, came to visit her (Rita) when she met George.

DSP Abadamlora indicated that in a conversation, George lured Theresa to be recruited and sent to Saudi Arabia; and she consented to it.

The prosecutor said in August Theresa called Rita at home and told her that she had been sexually abused and maltreated in Saudi Arabia and that she wanted to be brought back to Ghana; but George failed to arrange for her return.

George was then arrested and he mentioned the two others as his accomplices.

On October 17, Leah, who has no resident permit, was arrested, and she admitted that she, together with Fati, processed Theresa's documents and paid George an amount of $1,100 as an agent's commission.

She said in addition, George took GH¢1,000 from Theresa.

Further investigations reveals that Leah, who has no office to operate, employed Fati as her secretary and George as an agent who recruits Ghanaian ladies and traffic them to the Gulf countries for labour exploitation.

By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
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