‘I have left home, can’t return to work’ – Lady in Wa flogging video recounts ‘torture’

The lady filmed last week being flogged at the forecourt of the Wa Naa’s Palace has opened up about her ordeal.

According to a TV3 report, the unnamed lady lamented the social and psychological impact of the beating that she received.

She disclosed that what was captured in the viral video was only the second leg of her ordeal because the aggressors had beaten her all along after they picked her up to send her to the Palace.

“When the young men came to me, they told me to go with them to the palace and while we were on our way, they kept beating me until we reached the palace,” she told a TV3 reporter.

“Among the crowd, I could hear people yell, flog her, flog her. There was nobody to my rescue. I was severely injured with bruises and blisters on my back and buttocks after they flogged me 20 times,” she added.

After her release from the Palace, she recounted having to bear the cost of her treatment and how the incident was affecting her because she is unable to return to her place of work.

“I was left to my fate. I had to call a friend who took me to the Wa municipal hospital for treatment and paid for the treatment; I think it was between five hundred and six hundred cedis.”

She told the reporter from her hideout that she has had to abandon her home too. The report noted that she was a ticketing assistant at the Wa Transport Terminal.

“I cannot go back to the station and work after this humiliation and torture. I wish I could get a decent job elsewhere to cater for myself,” she added breaking down in tears during portions of the interview.

The Police announced on June 1 that they had arrested three men in the viral video in which two persons tied to a pole were being flogged at the Wa Naa’s palace.

According to the police, the suspects were arrested with the support of the Wa Naa and some community members and will face the full rigour of the law.

“The Police have arrested three (3) persons in connection with a viral video in which some people were seen publicly flogging two people on the forecourt of the Wa Naa’s Palace. The suspects, Sidiki Osman, Bushiran Knigir and Issahaku Mahama, were arrested with the support of the Wa Naa and some community members. The three will be taken through the due process of the law,” the statement read.

It added that “the Police are pursuing the remaining suspects to arrest them to face justice.”

A viral video of the flogging incident showed the victim tied to a pole as two men flogged her in front of the palace of the Wa Naa in the Upper East Region.

The footage received condemnation from some people citing a clear abuse of power, while others called on the police to take action and bring the perpetrators to book.