[ 2016-07-29 ]

Dumsor inducing rape at Esiama
Students of the Esiama Community Nursing Training
College in the Ellembelle District of the Western
Region are living in a state of fear from
intruders who terrorise both students and teachers
of the school at night due to the poor security
situation on their campus.

Information gathered by Weekend Finder indicates
that some students have become victims of rape and
other forms of attacks from intruders who take
advantage of the incessant light out at night to
terrorise the students.

Some students who spoke to Weekend Finder on
condition of anonymity said although the school
had billed them to purchase a power plant to
provide light each time they are off the national
grid, the plant is never ever put to use.

Madam Charity Kwamla, principal of the school,
explained that although the students were indeed
billed for the generator, they are unable to put
it on when the lights are off due to lack of money
to fuel the plant.

As a result, the students say they are afraid to
even attend nature’s call at night for fear of
being raped by intruders who lurk around such
places in wait for their prey.

“There is no light on our toilet so you can’t
visit the place alone at night; you either have to
go in groups. Most of us, because of the fear of
being attacked, do it in polythene and throw it
into nearby bush.”

Again, students complain of snatching of mobile
phones and handbags, as well as robbery of their
valuables at their dormitories on a daily basis.

Madam Charity Kwamla attributed the problem to
unaddressed concerns which the institution has
long forwarded to the Ellembelle District Security
Council.

According to her, the school complained to the
area council of the Ellembelle District Assembly,
stating emphatically these security challenges,
but their concerns, for over a year, have not been
addressed.

She explained, "The security challenges facing
the school could have been addressed if the school
had been walled to prevent unwarranted intrusion
by outsiders".

Madam Kwamla noted that due to the growing
phenomenon of illegal mining activities in the
Nzema area, the Esiama community has become
attractive to desperate unemployed youth who are
engaged in illegal mining activities. "Their
presence has inundated the locality with all kinds
of people," she lamented.

As head of the school for the past eight years,
she said the security challenges only compounded
recently as a result of the population explosion
in the area, orchestrated by this economic
circumstances.

For a solution to address the problem, she
disclosed that last week, the Area Council of the
assembly visited the school to present three
electric poles to authorities. These polls, she
said, would be erected at vantage points and
connected to power to provide the needed security
lights for purposes of visibility.

She also denied accusations of extortion levelled
against her by students of the school for the
purchase of a generator to be used during power
outages.

According to her, the Parents Teachers
Association (PTA) of the school initiated the idea
(billing each student 120 Ghana cedis) for the
purchase of the generator during the intensity of
the country's power challenges, to assist teaching
and learning.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for
Ellembelle, Daniel K. Eshun, confirmed the
insecurity in the school to Weekend Finder. As
chairman of the District Security Council (DISEC),
he explained that the problem had persisted for
years, therefore attracting the attention of the
District Security Council (DISEC), which has not
been sleeping over the matter.

He disclosed that some attempts have been made by
the council to provide security through constant
police patrol of the area.

The Member of Parliament for Ellembelle, Emmanuel
Armah Kofi Buah, who is also a member of the
DISEC, on his part, assured of collaborating
effectively with the assembly to deal with the
problem.

Source - thechronicle.com.gh

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