ABANDONED BUS NOW BROTHEL (MIRROR, LEAD STORY)

From George Ernest Asare, Kumasi.

A 61-seater Vanttol bus which has been abandoned at Asafo in Kumasi for the past one year, now serves as a brothel for both young and old.
The bus, with registration number GT 5012 W, has been described by residents as “a 24-hour service” brothel for the youth and some elderly people at Asafo and its environs.
The modus operandi of those who indulge in this act is that during the day, one of the consenting parties would sneak into the bus through the windows, while their partners join them later by the same means.
This is to avoid detection by residents who do business around the area where the bus has been abandoned. At night, the apparent cold atmosphere in the bus creates a more conducive environment for the immoral activities.
The patrons, therefore, take advantage of the situation to enter the bus in their numbers to indulge in sexual activities.
Some female teenagers who have been regular patrons of the bus service for nearly a year now are reported to be pregnant and are expected to be delivered of their babies very soon.
When The Mirror inspected the bus last Thursday, a variety of used condoms were scattered in the bus, indicating that not only had patronage been soaring, but that some of its clients were conscious of protecting themselves against unwanted pregnancy or being infected with any disease.
A 38-year-old businesswoman, Mrs Esther Adu-Gyamfi, a resident of Asafo, who sometimes witnessed some of the youth jumping into the bus during the day, has expressed misgivings about the situation.
She wondered why the owner of the vehicle could abandon it at a residential area for such a long time for the youth to turn it into a place for sexual activities.
“At dawn, I see some elderly women who have no sense of shame jumping out of the bus while their partners follow them as if it was a brothel, and in the afternoon, it is the same. The situation is becoming worse by the day and all efforts to convince the owner to tow the bus from its present location has proved futile”, she told The Mirror.
Mrs Adu-Gyamfi pointed out that some elders of Asafo, who are apprehensive of the behaviour of the youth and the danger it poses to their health, had complained to the owner on his cell phone, but the response had not been positive.
She said apart from being used as a brothel, the abandoned bus also posed risk to motorists.
“ The bus is a few metres from the main intersection of the Asafo Zion School, and therefore, blocks the view of motorists which sometimes causes accidents.
She has, therefore, appealed to the Regional MTTU Police Command to tow the bus from the Asafo area to prevent further accidents.
“Towing it from here will serve two purposes: It will reduce the rate of sexual promiscuity here and also reduce the number of accidents that are being recorded here,” Mrs Adu-Gyamfi added.