Antoa Curse: How policemen beat up a driver and got him jailed for a year

Details have emerged regarding how some policemen beat up a driver in Kasoa and got him jailed for 12 months in hard labour after he cursed them by invoking the spirits of Rivers Ahwerewaa, Etwa and Antoa.

On August 1, 2023, the driver, Joshua Amankwaa, was sentenced by the District Magistrate of the Kasoa District Court, His Worship Stephen Ofori Akrasi, to a year of imprisonment in hard labour for invoking curses on a police officer after the police officer had stopped a vehicle he was aboard, singled him out and conducted a
search on him.

After he cursed the officer for scattering his belongings on the ground, the police officer with the help of his colleagues, beat him up and transported him to the police station and charged him with the offence of offensive conduct.

The Court found him guilty of “offensive conduct contrary to section 207 of the Criminal Offence Act 29/60”.

“The explanation of the accused holds no water and I find him guilty. He claimed that they were five on board, but it was only him who was searched and this aroused his anger to invoke the name of the rivers he used to invoke the curse on the complainant as Ahwerewaa, Etwa and Antoa. The demeanour of the accused shows he has no remorse. Accused is sentenced to 12 months in high,” the verdict read.

But according to his brother who narrated how the incident unfolded to FixTheCountry convenor Mawuse Oliver Barker-Vormawor, “the accused is a driver, but he has no job. So a friend driver at Kasoa told him to be a conductor for his car and he accepted. On his way to his house. [after work], at Kasoa and some policemen stopped their taxi to search them so they took the bag with his belongings and poured his shirts and sponge on the floor, and didn’t find anything, so he said ohh “abae” you didn’t try at all there is no sense in this.

2. Immediately one of them slapped him from the back and another one slapped him again and they started beating him up, they dragged him on the floor to their car, through that pain, he pronounced a curse on them with three different Rivers, and they took him to cells that evening.
3. The next day we heard it and went to the police station at Kasoa to plead on his behalf, it was to no avail, we came home, then Tuesday morning I called the CID to ask about my brother he said they are taking him to court that morning so we should meet him at Kasoa District Court Akweley.
4. When we got there, they didn’t allow us talk to him his Case was called and the Judge sentenced him to,12 months in prison.”

News of the jailing of the driver has been criticized by many, especially social media users. Mawuse Oliver Barker-Vormawor has appealed to lawyers to intervene in the ‘unjust’ imprisonment of the driver by providing pro bono services to him.