A principal witness in the alleged mass rape on a Yutong bus on Monday told an Accra Circuit Court that although they were attacked by armed robbers nobody was raped.
Mr Samuel Asiedu-Sasu, driver of the Yutong bus involved in the case, said; "On that day we came across armed robbers, they shot at the windscreen but did not harm us".
Amina Mohammed, a hairdresser, has pleaded not guilty to publication of false news with intent to cause fear and panic and deceit of public officer and is on GH�5,000 bail.
Led-in-evidence by Mr Paul Asibi Abariga, State Attorney, Mr Asiedu-Sasu in his evidence-in-chief told the court presided over by Mrs
Patience Tetteh-Mills that on that day, his vehicle was the second bus to load and set off around 10:00pm.
Witness said when they reached a spot near the Customs Division of Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) barrier at Kubease, it was realised that the
road had been blocked with a log.
He said the driver of a cargo truck ahead of him did not stop and all he heard was a gun shot and that he forced his way over the log to Kubease
before he stopped.
Witness said he then checked on the vehicle to realise the gun shot went through the left side of his windscreen and removed a log under it.
He told the court that, the driver of the cargo truck signalled other on-coming drivers that there were armed robbers on the road therefore they stopped and came to sympathise with them.
Mr Asiedu-Sasu said, they later continued the journey to the Ejisu Police Station where he made a report and the vehicle was examined, gave a
statement and asked to continue the journey.
Witness said the next stop was at Kintampo where some Muslims among the passengers got down and prayed after which they left for Tamale and
Bolgatanga where some of the passengers alighted.
He said he paid for the few passengers left for Bawku and returned to Accra through Tamale, after a photographer had taken pictures of the damaged windscreen and the dent on the vehicle.
He said the vehicle was repaired in Accra and started working two weeks later, but after sometime was called to the Police Headquarters to assist in investigations into the case.
Defence counsel prayed the court for time to collect the extract of the witness statement from the police at Ejisu and Accra.
The prosecution's case was that Amina lives at Ashaiman, near Tema, and on October 11, this year, she and her mother boarded an Accra-Tamale-Bolgatanga bound bus with registration number GN 263-10 to attend a funeral.
He said the accused alleged that during the journey, they were attacked by armed robbers at Kubease near the barrier during which the armed robbers compelled men on the bus to have sex with the women, and a man who was travelling with his 14-year-old daughter was forced to defile her.
The prosecutor said the allegation was reported to a radio station and thereafter several radio stations took up the story and published it thereby causing fear and panic.
He said when the driver of the bus was contacted, he told the police that on that day, he left Accra with 47 passengers for Bawku through Tamale and Bolgatanga.
The driver said at about 2200 hours he saw a road block mounted by the armed robbers but drove through it and lodged a complaint at the Ejisu
Police Station and continued the journey to his destination.
The prosecutor said Police investigations confirmed that there was an attempted robbery at Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, but there was no mass rape as alleged by the accused.
The case was adjourned to Tuesday, November 23.