A 42-year-old self-styled imam has been sentenced to 10 years in prison with hard labour for defiling a 7-year-old boy he lured from his neighbourhood.
The Wa High Court on Thursday convicted Ilyasu Konate of sexually assaulting his young neighbour on January 17, 2026, in a case that moved from arrest to judgment in record time.
Justice Osei Antwi-Wusu, the presiding judge, rejected Konate’s denial and instead upheld medical evidence, the child’s sworn testimony, and forensic findings that confirmed anal penetration.
“He stood on a claim that he didn’t do it. But the court disagreed,” said Principal State Attorney Abdul Saeed Shakur.
“The science showed activity around the anal area. The child’s testimony was compelling. The mother’s evidence sealed it.”
Konate, who lived in the Kabenya suburb of Wa, had offered the boy, his sister, and his own stepdaughter a motorcycle ride on the day of the assault.
He drove them to a secluded spot behind a parked articulated truck near the tennis court at the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council compound, where he abused the child away from prying eyes.
What made the case particularly chilling, Mr Shakur said, was how Konate weaponised his position as a neighbourhood figure.
“Families trusted him with their children. He was always with them. He decided to take advantage of that trust.”
The trial was held in camera to protect the victim’s identity, as required by law. The boy, now 7, testified privately before the judge.
A medical doctor confirmed the assault. Konate was convicted and led away to begin his sentence immediately.
Justice Antwi-Wusu, whose judgment prosecutors described as “deep, analytical, and well-researched,” did not limit his ruling to the facts of the case.
He took the opportunity to issue a stark warning to would-be offenders, touching on child psychology, forensic science, and the devastating impact of sexual violence on minors.
“For a long time, we haven’t sat through a judgment like this,” Mr Shakur said. “The judge didn’t take anything to chance.”
But the case, Mr Shakur emphasised, is not an outlier. Child molestation is surging across the Upper West Region, he said, with many incidents going unreported, often because abusers are relatives, neighbours, or family friends.
“As I speak, there’s one still loading. Many others are not reported. Many are pushed away because of relationships. And often, it is people close to the children who take advantage,” he said.
The court’s message, he added, was unequivocal: “The court was forthright: we are coming. Anybody involved in child molestation, if we catch you, we will unleash the law in all its rigour. If you’re involved in these things, the day we get you, the law will take its full course.”
For the boy’s family, the verdict brought a measure of closure. “Relief, finally,” Mr Shakur said.
Konate will serve his sentence at a state penitentiary. His conviction marks one of the fastest and most robust child abuse prosecutions in the region in recent memory, and a test case for how the justice system intends to respond to a growing crisis.
