A heartbreaking picture of Ghana’s talented footballer Kingsley Sarfo has emerged with the midfielder in handcuffs and shackles like a terrorist as he arrived in a Swedish court from prison for the start of his rape trial.
The 23-year-old hugely talented player, who was recently invited to Ghana’s national team the Black Stars, is facing ten years in jail over the allegations he has consistently denied.
The Malmo FF attacking enforcer appeared in Malmo District Court on Monday after being charged with raping a 15-year-old girl for five times.
Sarfo been accused of two cases of sexual exploitation of children against another girl which has led to the trial with prosecutors seeking to cage the midfielder.
However, the case could not be finalized as the judge Ola Lavie adjourned it to next Monday.
Sarfo denies all criminal charges and does not agree to be detained because he is convinced the girls tricked him to believe that they were older than they are.
In Sweden, the punishment for rape against children, that is having sex or equivalent with a child under fifteen years, is at least two years.
Kingsley Sarfo in action in the Swedish top-flightThe 23-year-old was arrested in Sweden on Wednesday for raping a 15-year-old girl which is believed took place in Uppsala and Stockholm, between March 2016 and July 2017.
Sarfo was handed a debut call-up to feature for the senior national team of Ghana in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Uganda after opting to play for Ghana ahead of Sweden.
Despite the incidents allegedly taking place in 2016 and early 2017, the Swedish justice system did not start the investigation until Sarfo turned down an offer to play for the European country.
The Swedish FA piled pressure on him to play for them but he rejected their several overtures to play for Ghana which has led to the suspicion that he is being victimized.
William Luwagga Kizito (right) and Ghana Black Stars’ Kingsley Sarfo race to the ball during the match between Ghana and Uganda
His former agent who is the mother of Swedish coach Tom Strand formerly of Medeama and Great Olympics, is also alleged to have piled the pressure on the authorities to cage the player after he decided to break his contract with her. She has also denied the claim.
Sarfo is believed to be one of Ghana’s rising top players with great skills and long sentence could effectively end his burgeoning playing career.
Several African footballers have been jailed in Sweden in over claims of rape of domestic abuse in what many African observers in the country believe is cultural misunderstandings.
