A Wa Circuit Court has scheduled October 17, 2023, as the date for delivering its judgment in one of the four cases linked to the defilement allegations against Ahmed Rashid, also known as Anaata.

Presided over by His Honour Jonathan Avogo, the court has directed the prosecution to submit written addresses by September 27, 2023.

In this particular case, the accused, Rashid Ahmed, began his defense without legal representation. He took the witness stand and underwent cross-examination by the prosecutor. This docket involves three alleged defilement survivors and comprises six counts.

The accused acknowledged recognizing two of the three survivors mentioned in this docket, with one of them being the daughter of his stepmother.

Rashid Ahmed also admitted to having one wife and two children, aged approximately five and two years, respectively. Additionally, he acknowledged impregnating an 18-year-old girl, identified by the prosecution as a Junior High School student.

During cross-examination, the accused conceded that he had been accused in the past by his aunt of engaging in sexual activity with her daughter.

The prosecution, led by Mr. Saeed Abdul Shakur, a Principal State Attorney in the Upper West Region, suggested that the accused had lured the survivors with food to commit the defilement, an accusation which the accused denied.

Furthermore, it was suggested that the accused had taken advantage of his relationship with one of the survivor's mothers to commit the sexual offenses, but he again denied the allegation.

The prosecution also proposed that when the accused's wife left for her family's residence following a marital dispute, he had exploited that period, lasting approximately three months, to engage in sexual activities with girls. The accused denied this as well.

During cross-examination, a witness named Razark Adam, who testified on behalf of the accused, admitted that most of the accused person's friends were women and girls.

Meanwhile, Rashid Ahmed, also known as Anaata, is expected to present his defense in two additional cases on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.

Rashid Ahmed, alias Anaata, a well-known Master of Ceremony (MC) for Islamic weddings in Wa, is approximately 35 years old and is facing trial on about 20 counts related to defilement, attempted defilement, and indecent assault, all of which he has denied in court. He stands accused of defiling around 30 girls in Wa, aged between 12 and 15 years, with nine survivors having testified in the case.