Plaintiff Expresses Disgust Over Social Welfare Investigations

A plaintiff, Charles Worlorsi Ntori, seeking redress in court over the custody of two children he had with his former girlfriend has expressed misgivings over a report submitted to court by the Social Welfare Department, saying some key issues were not properly addressed. This is as a result of problems he had with her girlfriend after the relationship hit the rocks. Following this development the matter was sent to court. The family tribunal sitting at the District Magistrate Court, Tema, in the case involving the plaintiff versus the defendant Grace Kpanpah, on 23rd April, 2014 ordered that an investigation be carried out into the background and home condition of parties involved in the case to ascertain which one of them was suitable to take custody of their children Johnson Kwodzo Ntori and Aniluv Kofi Ntin Nori who are four and two and half years respectively. According to the social Welfare�s enquiry report, the nature of Charles Ntori�s business keeps him out of town quite often and that during one of such trips he met an empty room on his return. Findings were that the girlfriend Grace Kpanpah had ransacked his room and bolted with all his assets. He also indicated that he looked for the whereabouts of the respondent and the children to have the matter resolved but she refused to heed to that call. For about three weeks, Charles Ntori said, the children were not going to school. Besides, they were not staying with their mother. Mr. Ntori said he later found that the children were with their maternal grandmother at Ashaiman under poor living conditions. He therefore took them away and enrolled them in new schools at Doryumu where he currently lives. Charles Ntori noted that the poor state of the children while with their grandmother is an indication that the girlfriend does not love the children and will not take proper care of them. He said the girlfriend refused to release the children�s clothes for their use. He told the officers investigating the case that he wanted legal custody of the children due to the constant harassment he receives from his former girlfriend�s family. In the version of the children�s mother, she left the applicant�s house because at the time she was not allowed to work and the applicant was not taking proper care of the children. She said when she left with the children they were staying in her father�s house until she had a job at the Tema Harbour. She said among other things that she has now found a new job and was ready to help applicant to take care of the children. The officers of the Social Welfare have however recommended that due to the age of the children the mother should be given the right to have them in her custody, while the father is granted reasonable access to the children. However, the father of the children has categorically denied claims by the former girlfriend. He alleges that the woman in connivance with some officers who do not work with the Social Welfare Department drafted the report to favor her case. The plaintiff also alleged that he initially had difficulties getting a copy of the report from the Social Welfare until last week when he laid hands on the report. He again claimed that his items which the woman took away from his room have never been returned and the report did not say anything in relation to his belongings and that the children�s mother is still in possession of the items. He stated that since no cross examination was done prior to the drafting of the report, he believes there is a grand design to favor the woman in winning the case. He has therefore appealed with the court to take a critical look at the issue to ensure that justice prevails.