Kumasi: Defence for Children International Ghana (DCI-Ghana) has strongly condemned the inhuman treatment and torture of a 12-year-old boy in the Western Region. The incident, captured on video and widely circulated, depicts adults inflicting physical and emotional punishment on the child for allegedly stealing GHS 200.
According to Ghana News Agency, the child rights organisation is demanding that all individuals involved in the act, including those who recorded the video, be brought to justice and punished. Addressing the media in Kumasi after a regional learning and sharing workshop for girls and young women (GYW), DCI asserted that the treatment of the boy violated his rights under the 1992 Constitution and the Children's Act 1998 (Act 560).
The organisation highlighted that the incident also breaches the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the Domestic Violence Act 2007 (Act 732), and the Cyber Security Act 2020 (Act 1038). Article 28(3) of the 1992 Constitution specifies that 'A child shall not be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment.'
DCI-Ghana emphasized that this constitutional provision has been seriously violated, and called for immediate action to hold the perpetrators accountable. It also stressed the need for socio-legal protection and psychosocial support for the child to aid in his recovery.
The organisation urged the government to enforce child rights and protection legislation to ensure the victim receives justice and social support.
