Died and buried without honour; the perils of human trafficking

His biological mother sold him for Six Hundred Ghana cedis because of starvation that could have wiped out the whole family of seven.

He used his life as reparation whiles on the Volta Lake, which stole his soul.

It was all well in life until Gabriel Essanoh, the second of five siblings lost his dad.

He did not start school early.

At age eighteen, he was still in class five when he was used as a ‘sacrificial’ lamb.

Gabriel had closed from school and came home to the news of him being taken away to work at Yeji in the Brong Ahafo Region.

Two women had come to express interest in him and one of his younger brothers to work on the Lake.

Gabriel’s mother, Comfort Quaye was convinced her children were going to be fine because one of the women was a close family friend who knew the fisherman they were going to work with.

She agreed to a total sum of One Thousand Two Hundred Ghana cedis to ‘sell off’ his sons.

Gabriel and his brother accepted to go with the women to save his mother and other siblings from wallowing in hunger.

It was in August 2022.

They were to work during the vacations and return when school resumed. The agreement was however breached.

“When my husband died life became difficult so I decided to let them go and work on the lake during the vacation to help me cater for the family,” Comfort told crimecheckghana.org.
Less did the young widow know she was not going to see Gabriel again.

“Gabriel was taken to Yeji and then sent to another fisherman called Kweku Tsi in a town close to Togo. His younger brother, however, remained at Yeji,” Comfort said.

Comfort said she used to talk to them regularly on phone but lost contact with Gabriel when he was taken farther up North to a town called Abenagyei.

That was where the tragedy happened.

Ten months later, the news of Gabriel drowning in the deep waters of the Volta Lake reached her.

“Kwame Tsi called to tell me, my son had drowned,” Comfort recounted amid tears.

According to Comfort, she was informed Gabriel’s lifeless body was found two hours after he drowned.

But, Tsi did not seek consent from Gabriel’s family, he buried him immediately.

“I only wanted to see my son’s body if it is true that he is dead,” Comfort grieved with regret.

Whether it was true Gabriel drowned and died or he was used for rituals or he is alive but has been sold away to another boat master, Comfort Quaye is seeking answers.

Since the incident, Kweku Tsi has refused to answer Comfort’s phone calls to help her locate her son’s grave if indeed he were dead.

Comfort Quaye is calling on authorities to grant her son justice.

By Rudolph Nandi