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A 12-year-old boy met his untimely death Sunday afternoon after
drowning in a dam while trying to catch fish.
Abdul Latif Yakubu, a primary three pupil of Wa Falahia Islamic
Primary School, in the Upper WestRegion capital, was in the companyof
ten colleagues when the incident occurred.
One of Latif's colleagues told Upper West Region Correspondent, Rafiq
Salam, that after a first successful fishing expedition, Latif decided
to go back into the river for a second time in a different boat.
But unknown to him, the boat he picked for his second expedition was
leaking. Latif quickly jumped off the sinking boat and tried to keep
afloat, but he was unable to keep his head above the dam waters.Unable
to keep afloat Latif let out a scream and raised his hands, andthat
would be his last helpless attempt against drowning, Rafiq reports.
The 12-year-old's lifeless body was brought to the river banks by
'Rasta' – a mysterious man wearing dreadlocks. Rasta is believed to
possess special powers.
Rasta poured out libation before entering the river to bring Latif's
body ashore.
According to Rafiq, local divers who were present while little Latif
was drowning were afraid to enter the water to rescue him. They were
afraid of angering the gods.
So they sent for Rasta."It took family members of Latif over three
hours to comb the whole of Wa for Rasta…His arrival at the site for
the first time forced a smile on the faces of family members.
He went to a tree nearby with his colleagues to consult his gods
before entering the water. He entered the water with four other men
and within four minutes Rasta brought the 12-year-old out of the
water", Rafiq narrates.This would be Rasta's nineth such rescue
exploits in six years.
Rasta said he was able to bring Latif's body ashore because he spoke
the river gods.
Meanwhile, Latif's body has since been buried close to the river banks.
Credit: Myjoyonline.com
