14 Somanya residents arrested for organizing puberty rites or Dipo

The Somanya District Police Command has arrested 14 persons for flouting the ban on social gatherings in the wake of the novel Coronavirus pandemic.

The 14 are said to have gathered in a house to perform puberty rites, known as Dipo, despite the ban on all forms of gatherings.

The suspects have been charged and granted court bail to appear before the Somanya District Magistrate Court on Monday, May 4, 2020.

This arrest follows a similar one in the Eastern Region where four royals in the Akuapem traditional area were nabbed for flouting the ban on mass gatherings.

A circuit court in Obuasi recently remanded 40 persons for defying the ban on social gatherings while six other persons were recently fined GHS14,400 (1,200 penalty units) each for violating the restrictions law.

The ban on social gatherings is still in force, despite the lifting of the partial lockdown on Accra, Kumasi, Tema, and Kasoa.

For the avoidance of doubt, President cited “conferences, workshops, funerals, parties, nightclubs, drinking spots, beaches, festivals, political rallies, religious activities, and sporting events” as part of activities still banned in Ghana.

Though all educational facilities are also to remain closed, the President said: “businesses and other workplaces can continue to operate, observing staff management and workplace protocols with the aim of achieving social distancing and hygiene protocols.”