Queen mother of Kutunse, Naa Joormo Akua Dedaa I is calling for the prosecution of traditional leaders who settle defilement cases at their palaces.
Her call comes at the back of an attempt by a Chief in the area to thwart the prosecution of a suspect of defilement.
According to the queen, who is also the leader of a rights advocacy group, Perfect Ladies International, she threatened to cause the arrest of the Chief if he dared intervene as a means of shielding a suspect in a defilement case she was pursuing.
She revealed this to crimecheckghana.org when she led the Netherland-based group to pay a courtesy call on the Executive Director of Crime Check Foundation (CCF), Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng.
Naa Joormo Dedaa I said the Chief sought to obstruct her quest for justice for a 7-year-old girl whose brother defiled her.
The Chief she said asked her to settle the issue at home but ‘I declined and threatened to get him arrested if he tried to stop me.
“Instead of the Chief throwing his weight behind me, he rather wanted to discourage me to discontinue my pursuit for justice for the little girl. I was disappointed,” she said.
Naa Joormo said most traditional leaders are ignorant and therefore initiatives like fighting for the right of the girl child do not receive their support.
She, therefore, rallied the support of Queen mothers to unite to help curtail such vices in their communities to secure the future of girls.
She appealed to the general public to support queen mothers who are determined to fight for such good causes to encourage them.
He suggested the sensitization of Chiefs in particular to help curb the impediment of justice delivery.
He lauded the initiative of Perfect Ladies International and was full of honour for Naa Joormo Dedaa I for using her influence as a queen mother to promote justice in society.
“Many of our Chiefs are illiterates and therefore do not understand issues like getting justice for a victim of defilement. I think that before somebody is enstooled Chief, he must be educated so that the person would understand why issues of defilement should not be swept under the carpet but rather support the pursuit for justice for victims,” he suggested.
