This 'Pretty' Woman Has Become Paralysed After Being Shot Allegedly By Husband

Benita Dankwa, a 29-year-old woman has survived a gunshot while seven months pregnant.

She is now paralysed out of the incident and her baby boy saved through caesarean delivery.

JOY FM an Accra based radio station on Monday reported that the woman woke up on August 8, 2015; Saturday morning at about 5:30 am only to discover that there was a “hole” on her chest and another one at her back.

So she tapped her husband, Effort Dankwa, to wake up, dress up and help her to do same because she was naked but conscious of herself.

John Ansah, a neighbor said he heard a gunshot about 3am on that fateful day but he did not come out of his room to check what was happening because he was afraid.

According to him, he was called by his neigbour (husband) to help him take his wife to the hospital 2 hours after the incident had happened, and he was surprised the husband of the victim was not in a haste to get a car as early as possible to rescue his wife.

Her husband, Effort Dankwa, 33, who is now in police custody, denied being responsible for the pregnancy.

Benita Dankwa is now lying helplessly on her hospital bed, paralyzed from her chest downwards, the report noted.

According to Joy FM’s report, “Apart from her hands and head, Benita Dankwa on the hospital bed cannot move any part of her body."

“Benita Dankwa on the hospital bed cannot pass out urine. She cannot empty her bowels. A urinary catheter is attached to her urinary tract. It is emptied periodically by her 54-year old mother, Mrs. Agnes Yirenkyi, or anyone who is present when it is full.”

On her hospital bed, when she lifts the cloth covering the lower part of her body, huge plasters covering her bedsores are exposed. She has large bedsores on her buttocks and on her hips.

Out of her sit in bed for the past five months, Benita Dankwa has got swollen feet and needs someone to bathe her and turn her from time to time to enable the bedsores heal.”

Doctors at the Tema General Hospital in the report added that “her hemoglobin (blood) level is 6.1, half what it is supposed to be. The ideal level is 12, but hers have dropped to 4 and has risen to 6.1 through medication. The low hemoglobin level hampers the healing of her sores. She also stands the risk of a heart attack because of her low blood level and is also an anaemic.”

The report noted that investigations by the Tema Community 11 police “revealed that the victim (Benita Dankwa) was shot from a close range at her chest and the bullet penetrated through her body and was rushed to the hospital for treatment, but no point of penetration or breakage into the couple’s room was detected.”

Live ammunition believed to have been shot from a pistol at close range was found about 2 inches deep in the mattress on which the couple slept on.

Blood stains believed to be human blood was also found on the bed sheet and the mattress of the couple,” the report added.

All fingers are pointing to a certain direction, but because investigations are still ongoing we cannot confirm. But then, questions are coming up and answers are coming up,” Tema Region Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Juliana Obeng, was quoted on Myjoyonline.com.

“The question now is: who did it?” ASP Juliana Obeng asked. “Let me give you an example: If I were with you alone in the house and I wake up to have some injuries on my body and I find some other things in the room that have to do with blood stains and there are no other persons in the room, and nobody came to the room, then your guess is as good as mine,”

The police PRO, however, said they cannot draw a conclusion now.

Benita’s father, 68-year-old Mr. S.O.S Yirenkyi, says he suspects his son-in-law shot his daughter, especially because, Effort Dankwa failed to report the shooting to the police and also refused to give detailed information on his side of the story to anyone ready to report to the police station.

“If you are with your wife in the room and you wake up to find out that she has been shot, should you not be the first to report to the police?”

Her mother added that her daughter is really going through pain and called for Gods intervention.

In a subsequent interview with the victim, Benita Dankwa on JOY FM, she said her husband has refused to sell the land and car they bought together in order to pay the outstanding debt for the hospital bills saying; he is using the car for his rounds.