Saturday, 2 April 2011

Mob Mentality: It Can Lead to Fail

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Time: 3am
Date: 31st March, 2011
Location: Mensah Sarbah Hall Annex B, University of Ghana

Event: Apprehend a female thief and show her what's what.


Thursday had me busy at work. I ignored the internet and there's no radio in my office so I missed the debates. The evening saw me having the time of my life at the Labadi Beach Hotel with my family and I got home too late to bother with anything running the gossip rounds.  Fast forward to Friday, April first and my shock at reading a tweet by Nii Ayertey about Amina and how she could have been his sister.  I thought, "what's going on now?" and followed the link to this CitiFm story.  And then I prayed it was some sick April Fool's Joke.

At about 3am on March 31st, some male students of Mensah Sarbah Hall of the University of Ghana through whatever means, decided "to catch a thief". Unfortunately, there is NO correlation between these kids and the characters in the movie/book.  No one is quite sure how they caught this girl or how they got a confession out of her. We do know though that instead of handing her over to the police, they chose to beat her up. The girl in the video clearly has a black eye and unless she did that to herself trying to escape (silly excuse really) I call these boys women beaters. I do not condone mob action and always insist on turning over suspects to the police and for good reason. You never quite know who the mob has apprehended, and you sure as heck don't have anyone in a mob listening to reason.

I do not know at what point in time the boys chose to strip her naked. Parading her in the Hall, they did more than that.  They tore her clothes off of her, exposing her bra and panties.  Even those were not spared however, despite her pleas for mercy. Bottom line, they exposed her nether regions and proceeded to taunt her, while taking photos of her private parts and even going as far as to insert their fingers into her vajayjay.

University authorities are looking into this matter but I do not have any confidence in my Alma Mater. For years, students have been parading alleged thieves naked through the streets of campus (from Commonwealth Hall to the Main gate) in order to pond them.  And the university has always turned a blind eye to the happenings on. Debates yesterday on facebook had people comparing what happened to this girl to the pondings that were delivered to the boys who stole in the past.  Well let me say this, when you stole from Commonwealth or any Hall in the past, you had a choice.  Either you went to the shrine at La or were handed over to University Authorities or you had an option of being marched naked through the streets of campus with the culmination of a "decent" bath in the filthy pond at the main gate.

Amina was not given any of those choices. These boys tore, (shredded, call it what you will ) her clothes from her body and then did something that has never before been done, even by those troublesome Vandals. They crossed that fine line that exists in mob mentality where the role of criminal and victim are turned around.  See, once Amina was down on the floor clutching her tattered bra to her chest and begging the boys not to go any farther, she ceased to be a thief in my eyes.  She became a sexual assault victim, pleading with her attackers to have mercy on her.  She became a woman begging a gang of men not to violate her person. 

I don't know how many of you have ever been in such a situation before (I certainly hope you haven't) but I doubt there is anything more damaging than having a gang of men or women (or even a single person) out to sexually molest you and you laying in a defenseless heap with nothing but your tears to protect you.

I'm still trying to reconcile what they did and simply cannot find a single rhyme or reason. Who in their right mind captures a thief in their home and then decides "Let's see what they look like under those clothes".  Who in their right mind chooses to get their Johnses off when they find a burglar in their home.  "Oh thanks for comming to rob me.  I'd like to have the sex now" I do not think that I have ever been more ashamed to have been a student of the University of Ghana and I am glad now that I did not follow my father's footsteps and join Sarbah Hall.  He's certainly upset about it.

I'm against sexual abuse of any person (be they male or female, child or adult) or animal and can only describe what I feel right now as empathy.  I wept when I saw the video (couldn't finish watching it) and wish now that I hadn't been linked to it. If I cannot condone lynching a person for some crime, then how on earth can I condone sexually abusing them? I keep thinking what if this had been a case of mistaken identity? Just imagine for a second, for those of you who want to justify what happened to her, that these kids had made a mistake.  What if they'd grabbed the wrong person and abused them in such a manner?  What if your sister had been the one they'd grabbed in their frenzy? It shames me to have people I respect and admire tell me she deserved what she got and that this time she'll learn her lesson.  It shames me to hear people I expect to do something ask me if I knew this girl and demand to know "why are you being so emotional about this?"  

No one cares!!!  A clear case of human rights violation and no one cares!!! Someone had the guts to say on facebook that if it had been a man, we wouldn't be making so much noise about it. He said to "get it right.  It's human rights not women's rights" and I set him straight. We've been complaining for years about mob action.  Been speaking out forever about the marches to the uni pond. Clearly that was championing human rights and that was when it was even only men being abused. I have never heard of a case when a male thief was being paraded naked in the streets and the girls went over to stroke his manhood.  It's plain disgusting to think of if you ask me.

The reason this person seems to think the world champions women's rights is simply this.  Women and Children have always been weaker and therefore more defenceless.  Of course when you hear stories about human rights violation, they're going to be about women being raped or molested and children being treated the same or worse.  And men, when they are abused, shut up about it.  Show me one case where a man was abused sexually and people threw a party for his attackers. 

This guy made a case of "women rape men and women beat men".  PLEASE!!! It's anatomically IMPOSSIBLE for a woman to rape a man unless she chooses to sodomise him and if you showed me such a case, I'd be first to condemn it. If it had been girls fingering Amina, I would still be talking about it.  If it had been boys sodomising a man or woman, I would be talking about it.  If it had been boys groping a male thief, I'd STILL be talking about it.  SEXUAL ABUSE is wrong and any person that seeks to justify and rationalise it away and promotes it is a big fat filthy IDIOT and should experience it for themself.

I want to see Amina fight for her justice now.  The state can do whatever they want concerning the theft but now the state HAS to round up the students responsible and deal with them.  Amina deserves justice.  She has become one of the many victims of sexual abuse and if it's one thing that I know, Victims Never Forget. She didn't ask for it.  This is not her fault and instead of men and women applauding these depraved students for their actions, I would like for there to be a united voice, calling for Justice, calling for heads to roll.  The university needs to be strict when they apprehend these students and the State should be well prepared to fight this to the end.  

I also hope that we will find a way to talk to our students.  We need to get it into people's thick skulls, right from childhood, that sex is not a tool for punishment. 

Another thing that worried me was the way in which the video went viral.  I know some people meant well and wanted the world to see the depravity of man but did anyone think for a second that it would be adding more insult to this girl's injury?  I sat down to think and I wondered, would I be okay with it, if my rape was taped and spread over the internet? Would you be fine if your friend, sibling, mother was attacked and the video making its rounds to every cellphone and computer, not only in your country but going as far as to hit the internet, where the entire world can see? So I asked the person who uploaded the video to delete it.  Did he? When I checked at 3pm yesterday, he hadn't done that.  Now, his facebook profile has been deleted. Thank God for facebook crawler bots and the report violation button :)

No matter how you look at it, there is no "justice" in what was done to Amina. This is a human being (forget her crime) who was sexually abused by a gang and she's never going to get over it.  I insist that we do not simply sweep this under a rug.  I'll keep talking about it and demand that we hear something tangible from the Ghanaian government and the University authorities.  I demand that something be done to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. You can be sure that I'll be writing more about this, that I'll continue to make a nuisance of myself until someone in authority says something. And it had better not be along the lines of  "It is not nice and especially when it involves students who are supposed to know better..." and then nothing is done. We have a judiciary and laws have been put in place to handle these things.  Now I want to see these laws and their enforcers DO THEIR DAMN JOB!!

My heart goes out to Amina.  No matter what her crime was, she definitely did not deserve such a punishment and I pray that true justice is served.

~Daixy~

36 comments:

  1. Well said, Daixy. I'm still reeling about how depraved the "intellectuals" that we're entrusting our nation's future into are. It's worrying.

    Mob action has been going on for ages in the universities (Legon isn't alone), but to think they'd go that far... (shudders) Since when has mob action ever worked and shown the sensibility of man in a good light? It's pathetic, and thinking "she deserved what she got" only makes it a hundred times worse.

    I'm just stunned, really. Pure and simple.

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  2. @ E Porter, it's disgraceful is what it is. I'm writing letters to the Chancellor, the chief justice, the Regional Minister....this cannot happen again. What's killing me is the silence. Why aren't more people talking about it?

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  3. It's sad that people that are supposed to be acquiring intelligence in an institution of higher learning,who should be knowledgeable about law and ethics would commit a crime of that nature in the name of righting a wrong.These VANDALS lived up to their name.There is no difference between them and tyrants like Khadafy,Saddam,or even Hitler.And anyone that condones their actions is a repressive tyrant too.

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  4. There is one thing for sure. The culprits will be brought to book. One thing that worries me though is that I was at the graduation ceremony of my colleagues. These were fresh doctors that had just passed out of Med School, no one talks about the awards they swept and the honor they are bringing to the nation.

    No one is congratulating them. The airwaves are filled with stories of Amina and the habits of the rascals at Sarbah Hall. Who will praise the students who burnt the midnight candle to sweep the awards. We need to encourage the good students just as we punish the bad ones. I think too much has been said about Amina.

    Let us zoom in on the good students, no matter how few they are and give them the kind of praises they need to make this nation a better one.

    My two pesewas - I don't want change

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  5. @fesdamenace, Amazingly, it was the Vikings and not the Vandals who did this. I couldn't agree with you more though. These kids should have known better and nothing will make me feel better than hearing that they've been brought to book.

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  6. @Edward, I disagree. This matter hasn't been dealt with yet and I think it's awful to say something like it's been over-hyped.

    Congrats to the doctors, of course, my cousin is in the group today. We congratulate them and wish them all the best. However, please do not belittle the severity of this event. We better say something now and actually see it dealt with lest something more severe happens. I doubt if it'd been someone you knew, that you'd say it was being talked about too much

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  7. Well said Daixy!!! I am just sick to death of the Hypocrisy of our society. We claim to be "God Fearing" and dignified But alas our true nature manifests in such a beastly manner.

    To think this act was done by University Students! The so-called Leaders and Visionaries...Pathetic!...

    No Ghanaian Should attempt to claim they are not part of this mob madness. This act is a total reflection of all of us.

    Our society so sick! and we should bow our heads in shame!

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  8. This is a wonderfully insightful piece of writing, full of passion. We should all be very scared that those we are entrusting with our futures are unable to behave in way resembling intelligent and compassionate human beings.

    Mob justice functions because the legal system fails the people. Will the university authorities prove that the system can administer real punishment by sacking these boys or continue to show that the guilty go free?

    @Edward If I was one of those graduating doctors I would use graduation as the opportunity to demonstrate my opposition to violence and sexual abuse. I would want to distance myself, and my university, from those thugs that want to dirty my name and that of the university. After the punishment of those concerned I would want to know what measures the university is putting into place to ensure this doesn't happen again.

    In the UK the entire student body would be now given education workshops on violence against women and women’s' groups would be invited in to share their stories. Perhaps an anti-bullying policy and bullying awareness campaign will be put in place. Or will this be handled the same way everything seems to be - sack the thugs and then pretend it never happened? The university authorities must take responsibility for their inability to educate their students on basic matters of decency and human rights.

    If I was one of the decent students, these are the things I would be lobbying for now.

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  9. @Abroba, the future looks bleak indeed, if this is the calibre of intellect we're producing

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  10. @Tetekai, hear hear! Facebook and Youtube have one of the best algorithm's for catching inappropriate videos. May take a while but once someone has reported your vid, you can be sure the bot will determine what's what

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  11. @Graham, Wow thanks for the compliment. I concur about the need for us to watch out. These truly are our future leaders and we should be very much afraid if thy cannot tell right from wrong.

    I think the Ghanaian Education service should step up with re-educating the nation. The churches too for that matter. We should let our kids know early on that such behaviour is unacceptable.

    A friend was telling me yesterday about how a family friend had been mistaken for a thief and lynched. The boy did not make it. Here's how it happened. The poor boy was walking home when he felt out of breath and not having anywhere to sit, sat down behind someone's wall. Then came some bozo who yelled "thief" and before you could say jack, an angry mob had gathered and beat him up. After the beating was when it was discovered that he was the son of a prominent member of society. His parents had to bury their son simply because human beings can be foolish and because their son wasn't feeling well and no one would help him.

    You hit the nail right on the head, luv. The uni will try to catch these boys and most likely will cut short their scholarship. But the actual problem will be given a blind eye. That's the Ghanaian Mentality, sadly, and till we get enough people talking about this and writing about it after the fact, asking the authorities what's being done, we'll never see an end to such disgraceful and barbaric behaviour.

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  12. Thanks Fiona :)

    I like this "Mob justice is our problem". It's high time we realised that this is a grave social condition and take steps to fix things. It's our problem and it's up to us to solve it.

    I'm thinking of writing letters to the uni authorities as a disgruntled old student and the responsible governmental authorities.

    Perhaps it's time we sent out a proper petition and got some signatures to make sure people sit up. We as individuals may have the right ideas but without the necessary support, we'll go nowhere. I want a better Ghana and a better world. Maybe I'm too naive, sticking to my childish fantasies of a perfect world but what's a person without gullible dreams?

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  13. @daixy good piece. I DON'T AGREE WITH WHAT THE STUDENTS DID
    Most student accused or caught stealing usually opt for this sort of treatment because they don't want a mistake they made to end their academic life and as such prefer to be stripped, lynched, paraded around campus and "cut water" and that is why most if not all times the University authorities turn a blind eye to such situation.
    I DON'T AGREE WITH THIS PROCESS AT ALL AND I ALSO FEEL SORRY FOR AMINA FOR THE TREATMENT SHE RECEIVED.
    I wouldn't wish this sort of thing on anyone or a family be it male or female.
    Mob Justice is unacceptable.
    I AGREE THE STUDENTS INVOLVED SHOULD BE PUNISHED.
    Their punishment should be a warning to all who think mob justice/assault and molestation is acceptable regardless if the criminal this inhumane act was shown was either male or female.

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  14. Nice Post Daixy,Its rather sad that Amina`s case went that far i mean its horrible for students of a Prestigious University to do this. I saw the video and honestly did not think she deserved to be treated the way she was.Yes she stole but it does not give anybody the right to give her such horrible treatment.The worst part for me was that i had to find out about this from a friend in the states who directed me to websites of International agencies that handles human right activities.Its just too shameful coz Ghana Hosted a United Nations Conference on Public peace,Human Rights and Domestic violence on the 31st of March..we as future leaders need to go back to the drawing board and do our home works well because these incident has proven that we are no better than the current leaders and the bright future we preach became fantasy to me after the Amina incident. Your newest Stalker.

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  15. Well written Nana. You said it all. I am not about to go and write a whole essay here because you know I love to talk. Bottom line is: The boys were wrong. Something better be worked out. They forget, writers are watching.

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  16. Shall we get an online petition going Daixy? I was digusted, humiliated and heart-broken to see this video making rounds on the net this morning. These are our future leaders? What a terrible day to be Ghanaian! I am ashamed to call myself one.

    If possible please also forward the addresses of the authorities to whom you are writing?

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  17. We all must condemn the act by some of these students at Sarbah Hall. I condemn it to the fullest. A few quick points: It is known 'how Amina was apprehended by the students.' She stole the items and forgot her phone, so as she came bavk for it, she was nubbed. She is also notorious for other thefts in the same hall.
    2. Many people have spoken about it and it's all over the news. My problem is, there is a tendency to confuse things if context isn't considered. Why did they treat her that way?
    For me, a good discussion of this issue would encompass these considerations. Else, we would all be screaming about 'woman, woman, woman' when indeed that isn't the main problem. I have witnessed how a man was stripped naked on campus and beaten. Daixy, where were you then? Or Nii Aryee or Kojo Oppong Nkrumah or Graham? We should condemn things equally and solve the real problem of security for us all

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  18. I really wish people would stop with the polarization of the issue - turning it into a sort of mishapen gender battle (I fail to see this kind of thinking as anything other than petty and short-sighted at the very least).

    I would expect that all of you (including Nana Sarpong above) talking about "where was 'ABC' when 'XYZ' received similar treatment" would stop and think (really think!) for a second that this latest outrage is an 'opportunity' to call attention to the fact that this is a crime that has gone unpunished for too long in our soceity.

    The issue is not about a crime of this nature when prepetuated against females being more attention-grabbing with males. I mean, come on! Are you serious?! The crux of it (if I MUST spell it out) is that: SEXUAL ABUSE IS WRONG - DESPITE WHATEVER FORM IT SHOWS UP IN.

    I could scream; this Ghanaian ignorance can really drive a person to infuriation. Can't you see that there is something fundamentally wrong with a society that believes that this poor girl DESERVES what she got? What is wrong with you that you can put aside the severity of this crime as to think a fringe issue like gender dicrimination against men in mob justice is more important to focus on? THE ISSUE IS THAT MOB JUSTICE IS ALLOWED TO CONTINUE IN OUR LAND AT ALL!!!AAAAAAAAARRRRRRGHHHH! (gave up fighting and screamed there)

    Seriously people...my people...if I must spell it out for you once more: We are on the same side oooooo. Get your head out of your arse and screw it on right! JEEEEEZ!!!

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  19. Nana Yaw,
    the issue is not merely the stripping naked but the sexual abuse.
    When did the students ever insert their fingers into a man's arse? Whether the stripping of men has ever been videoed and distributed I am not sure but does not change the issue. If male students had also suffered sexual abuse would we not also be making a protest about it?
    Next, the whole issue of allowing disciplinary procedures to be left in the hands of young men has to be discussed.
    As I wrote on my blog post, the fact this incident was able to take place raises many issues in the wider society. This is what we need to address now.

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  20. And from the comments, we can see how we are losing sight of the real problem and instead raising passions and generalising

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  21. Perhaps you should spell out this "REAL PROBLEM" you keep alluding to NY. Your comments are a little ambiguous and open-ended, the reactions above seem justified considering...

    ~ Anon 1

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  22. Whoa Whoa! Let's not get too passionate @ Anonymous. I don't think Nana Yaw meant his comment as a personal attack. Let's play nice shall we?

    You're absolutely right of course. I just had an argument with my coworkers about this. They're pissed about it being a gender issue and stating what if it'd been a man? and I keep telling them, look at the bigger picture. Sexual abuse is wong. Mob Action is wrong. Two different things happened that day. A person was sexually abused and second, a person was beaten up.

    Unless we can see the actual problem and deal with it, we'll waste time dealing with the what if's and what nots. I'm tired of what if and thinking what can we do?

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  23. So a colleague was telling me about how he saw someone being lynched in Accra some time back. Apparently, the crowd was done with him, when someone chose to lay the man's manhood out on a slab and smash it with a concrete block. He was using this to make his point of, if it was a man, no one would talk about it.

    My fellow Ghanaians, I'm getting awfully frustrated here. If you have witnessed any such atrocity to your fellow man and simply stood by, if you've failed to report any such incidents, you are just as bad as the people who actually take part in them.

    So you saw this happen to someone. Did you report it? Did you help get the person away and to medical care? Or did you sit with your hands between your legs and decide such is the way of the world? It's hard when you have people whose minds are set that way. I'm being told that I'm too naive and that I'm too optimistic and in a couple of years, I'll see what the world is really like.

    I hate it when people tell me such BS. I have seen and dealt with enough of the crap this world has to deal out and I'm grateful to God that I have not lost all of my innocence. I'm enough of a cynic and do not need to take up that self defeating attitude our people are exhibiting. I will always fight for a better world and will always speak up when I see something that's clearly wrong. Maybe, just maybe I can get a few people to change their mindsets.

    And that's me last post till I get home tonight.

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  24. Perhaps the issue with Amina, is that the students and University authorities were not able to keep it in-house. Those of us outside the University have no idea what forms of abuse are taking place, if any. But this one was brought to our attention and therefore, as Daixy says, we have to speak out. For those that are part of the University community, where has your voice when, according to the argument, similar abuses were previously taking place? Or was it considered better for all concerned to keep is hush-hush?

    Would it work starting an online petition? What points would we wish to make?

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  25. Let me know when your elected officials&public officers who draw their monthly pay from your tax -supported ''national kitty'' take a break from the daily politics&non issues to attend to this. I've become ambivalent, sadly. Been there, reported it, no action, no show----sounds like a broken record now. Hmphhh

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  26. I suppose the following would be the major touch points:

    - Mob justice and its acceptance by the larger populace
    - Sexual abuse and the misinterpretations of the crime Ghanaians appear to have adopted

    On the online petition, I think we could ask for support for the following:
    - The leadership of Legon officially denounce the actions of the students as extreme and lacking in better judgement

    - Institute a practically campaign to educate our "supposed to be future leaders" on the subject

    - Do something to curb the incidence of vigilante behaviour on Legon campus (ie Investigate the recent incident and bring the perpetrators to book)

    ~ Anon 1

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  27. Never known ambivalence to do much good in these situations.
    Akwasi, I refer you thusly... (paraphrasing)

    "Bad things continue to happen because good people stay silent."

    "First they came for the 'male thieves' and I did not speak out because I was not a male thief.

    Then they came for the 'female thieves' and I did not speak out because I was not a 'female theif'.

    Then they came for the '' and I did not speak out because I was not a ''.

    Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me." (maybe this is you tomorrow, will you care then?)

    "To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all"

    When is enough, enough? Are you waiting for the sky to start falling about your ears to shrug of such a defeatist attitude? That might be leaving it a little late, don't you think?

    Same Ghanaian attitude of 'fear/apathy' hidden behind 'ambivalence' that allows such things to happen to begin with.

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  28. Alright...forgive my over-exuberance. This issue really has me riled up. I'm really passionate about this, if I have made that plain enough :)

    I shall keep a leash on it from now on.

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  29. @Anonymous: rant & jab the air till you burst your spleen and taste the bile, the status quo remains. there's only so far you can go before you become vigilante-an outlaw. sadly Sherwood forest remains a myth---fact. i restate this: i remain detached until our energy is directed at putting into office person who act to purge the rot. we have laws that are unenforced despite precedence, rather our lawmakers and enforcers choose to pursue trivia while the rest of us cheer them on. who's to stop these students when previous aberations have gone unpunished? people have been lynched on mere suspicion of causing another's genitals to disappear with a touch, suspected robbers have been stoned to death while police looked on because 'they cause too much trouble', people languish in jail for 10/20 years on REMAND-their case dockets disappeared and still waiting to appear before a judge, everything is reduced to politics-the mysterious murders of some 21 women in adabraka, dansoman and accra's general neighborhoos--still unsolved, while some witless goon demands a lie detector test and milks it for what its politically worth to raucous applause; still no show. who are we lying to? of all these i have personal experience narrating the stories of their happening and following up demanding action from people we put in office. that's all one can do really-ask ask ask till one day you shrug and ask 'whats the point?' our problem isnt that we arent aware that what theose students did was wrong--regardless of the gender they targetted. wrong is wrong. our problem is that we celebrate the fact we can get away with it--at least until we are victims at the other's pleasure. thats why we drive on the shoulders of the road, ran the red light, jaywalkk/spit/urinate ain public, are forced to sleep in darkness/go without water for day though we pay our electricity/water bills, infact why we cheer when the lights are switched on because we're grateful they're on at all, why we delight in our mp's hailing joshua water when the prez takes a sip& make 'ecomini' catcalls instead of demanding no excuse for wrongs /poor services /or scrutinizing every loan agreement and state contract to ensure the next generation's wealth is not mortgaged just to satisfy the current politburo's parochial interests, why people show little respect for the office of the president, and our journos/civic society groups should be engaging the public in discourse that put OUR needs at the top of the agenda instead of abdicating them for gossip mongering, which by the way is rewarded by high audience ratings/reader circulation! And you wonder why poor Amina was stripped and touched inappropriately? Madness all over. I remain ambivalent for the sake of my own sanity.

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  30. It would seem that I'm not the only one destined for a 'bile-tasting' resulting from 'spleen-exploding, air-jabbing ranting'...lol.

    You're one of us then Akwasi, one of the beautiful fools.

    Let me let you in on the irony: in your attempt to hide your head beneath a blanket of indifference, you forget that the rest of you is in plain view :)

    Ambivalence to preserve your sanity...seems justified at first glance, however looking a little deeper...might well be that your mind is so kept intact at the expense of your soul.

    If you have a voice why not use it, if you have a mind then better to put it to use, or?

    (I read your rules about attacking others in comments Daixy, I should have taken the time to do so yesterday. Once again I apologize to you and your readers for my earlier inflamatory commentary)

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  31. @Anonymous: i implore you to cease jabbing&ranting lest you your spleen implodes and bile fouls your tongue. been there, done that. the world carries on without you. would you rather not preserve your sanity-what's left of it-so you can make a cogent case to those who still shall listen and follow; and in your little way brighten the corner where you are? listen, as the Bearded Old Man above be my witness, i've paid my dues. i said to Daixy on twitter earlier, i'm shod off hope. i rely on you who remain hopeful to keep mine alive. soldier on. till we reach a point where wrong is penalised and we can hold power accountable for failing us, God save Amina, forgive her abusers and fortify our spleens from rupture.

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  32. Akwasi, surely you must know that what you appeal for is not any kind of option: foul breath vrs bitter disenchantment...(Hmm, let me consider that one a second - second over!)

    I should be so lucky as to lose my mind before the dark plunge into hopelessness.

    ...and soldier on we shall! Because from the point of view of achieving any kind of results, jaded resignation and ignorant apathy must appear to be the same animal.

    Ditto - "God save Amina, forgive her abusers... fortify our spleens from rupture" and bless us all!

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  33. @Amina et al: you need no encouragement to sign up. click http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/home.php?sk=group_140716815999231

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  34. apologies. copy&paste in your web browser after signing in to facebook

    http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/home.php?sk=group_140716815999231

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  35. This is very pathetic. Even in the animal kingdom where stupidity is the daily bread there is comportment. I hurts me to think the people who did this to this lady are potential leaders, lawyers and security officers of this country in the very near future. And if the enlightened behave this way then how much more the illiterates.

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  36. I saw snippets of the video and actually felt sorry for the girl. Since when did people punish thieves by touching and abusing their genitals?

    The University authorities had better catch the culprits for who knows.... next time it may not be a thief that they do this to.

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