The Herald’s investigations into rape scandal involving two Ghanaian military officers in Lebanon on a United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping mission, have revealed that the country could be courting trouble from the world body, if the current stance of “see no evil, hear no evil” of the Ghana Armed Force (GAF) High Command persist.
The matter of the attempted rape, which has moved to an actual rape and then to consensual sex between the two officers; a Lieutenant Colonel (Lt. Col.) and his female victim with the rank of a Lieutenant (Lt), The Herald has established, could lead to sanctions according to UN’s strict rules against Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA).
The UN mandates all staff members or affiliated personnel to report sexual exploitation and abuse. All UN personnel, including Ghanaian soldiers, are taken through various sessions to orient them against any form of sexual activities amongst themselves and the locals in their host countries, ahead of such missions abroad.
Last week, The Herald revealed that, the GAF’s mission; GHABATT 89, has been rocked by allegations of attempted rape, leading to two officers names withheld, being recalled to Ghana for investigations following a petition from the husband of the victim.
The Herald, has since been picking reports following last Friday’s publication that Lt. Col and the Lieutenant, have been recalled from Lebanon and are assisting Ghana’s military authorities with investigations into the rape allegation that the story about the two officers who belong to Supply and Transport (S&T) keep changing with a desperate effort to cover-up. This paper’s information is that the senior army officer has not been charged.
The young lady’s marriage is being destroyed with the claim that she rather had a consensual sex with her senior officer. Sexual offenses in the GAF are, however, they are usually covered up. Very few had gone on Court-Martial after investigation but they mostly involved non-commissioned officers.
The Herald’s information is that a rape case occurred at Tema Naval base. The military authorities ignored the rape allegation but went with a consensual sex after a video emerged of the two non-commissioned officers having sex with the married lady performing oral sex on the male who was also married. The rape, which happened on a later date, was shoved away after the video was brought out many days later by the male to exonerate himself. He was only demoted and the lady also left the Navy.
In the case of the UN, this paper’s findings are that all personnel affiliated including soldiers with the UN have been admonished to uphold the highest standards of conduct. It warns that acts of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse are prohibited.
Personnel “are strongly encouraged to report in good faith any instances of sexual exploitation and abuse of which you become aware. Reports may be submitted anonymously, and information provided will be treated confidentially and will only be disclosed to those who have a legitimate need to know”.
“The United Nations mandates that all staff members or affiliated personnel report sexual exploitation and abuse. If you believe that you have experienced retaliation for reporting a concern about sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, this should also be reported”.
Indeed, on September 18, 2017, the Secretary-General, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, convened a High-Level Meeting on combating sexual exploitation and abuse.
The event served as a visible demonstration, at the highest political level, of the solidarity of the international community in condemning and committing to combating this scourge while placing the rights and dignity of victims of sexual exploitation and abuse at the forefront of collective efforts.
Since 2016, the then UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, had established a Trust Fund for victims of sexual exploitation and abuse with contributions from member states and governments for victims and specific commitments for protection of victims while attempts to end impunity and strengthen measures to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse in international deployments.
According to the UN, prevention lies at the core of the strategy to combat sexual exploitation and abuse. It must be undertaken in a proactive and comprehensive manner across the UN system and in partnership with the Member States. Fundamental elements of this approach are screening and training staff, raising public awareness, and conducting risk assessments.
The Secretary-General has emphasized that if an individual has committed acts of sexual exploitation and abuse while in the service of a UN entity, that individual should not be rehired anywhere in the UN system. In this regard, the initial screening of candidates for every United Nations post is being strengthened, including the vetting of personnel for records of prior misconduct while in the service of another UN entity. Currently, all personnel deployed in peacekeeping operations are vetted for such records from prior deployments in UN operations.
Training of all UN staff and personnel on the UN Standards of Conduct is an essential element in the fight against sexual exploitation and abuse. Training for all UN personnel is conducted regularly both before and after deployment. The United Nations has an online training programme on the prevention of sexual exploitation that is mandatory for all staff in the Secretariat and in UN peace operations since 2017. Other UN system entities are also adapting the training for their own use.
This paper’s information is that, the Lieutenant colonel and his victim, were recalled from the mission after the lady’s husband, also a military officer serving the GAF, petitioned the Military High Command to investigate the rape.
The Herald is informed that, but for the publication, the military high command was about to as usual sweep the matter under the carpet when the paper dropped the bombshell. Now, they are ready to even charge the Lieutenant colonel.
The Herald was informed about plots to cast doubt on the lady’s credibility by having the senior officer lie that he and the lady, had been lovers, and the splashing of the sperm on her uniform, wasn’t out of an attempted rape, but rather they had consensual sex.
There were fears that the military hierarchy, will attempt to as usual shield their own by hushing up the embarrassing development, which occurred in Lebanon.
This paper’s military insiders, revealed that the Lieutenant Colonel with ties to the , had initially sought to deny the rape attempt with his colleague officers ready and willing to side with him until the lady in question produced a damning evidence against him, forcing the investigators to coil in shame.
The victim, who is a married woman, had produced her uniform which was heavily soaked with the sperm of the senior officer to the military investigators.
He was said to have pulled out his penis, forcing his way into the lady, and in the process discharged sperm onto her uniform.
The Herald is informed of some instances where the GAF swept the matter under the carpet.
Available to this paper is the name of another officer, who was caught to have fixed cameras in a female bathroom inside Burma Camp, videoing naked female officers and downloading the footage onto his laptop computer to satisfy his unconscionable sexual cravings.
This paper is informed that, instead of sacking him over the despicable conduct, the military hierarchy last year simply gave the Lieutenant of the Single Regiment, the son of a retired army officer what was said to be “six months loss of seniority” after describing the officer as suffering from some psychological illness.
The video recordings happened at the Command Mess Single Quarters also known as “Maternity” located behind the Burma Hall inside Burma Camp.
Desperate efforts were made by known senior officers not to Court-martial him, and he has since remained in uniform leaving many of the female officers confused as to whether the videos of them naked, are still in his possession and when will find their way into the public domain.
