Foundation reacts as 90-year old woman lynched over alleged witch craft

The Chairperson of STAR-Ghana Foundation Governing Council, Dr. Esther Ofei-Aboagye, has, on behalf of the organization, condemned a dastardly act wherein some people took the laws into their hands to lynch and killed a 90- year old alleged witch in Savannah Region.

Ofei-Aboagye has therefore called on the security agencies to investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to face the law.

She noted that it is shameful that in the 21st Century, barbaric acts are still prevalent in Ghana, adding that similar vices like Female Genital Mutilation(FGM), Trokosi Sytem and early child marriage was dominant in parts of the country till were gradually minimized.

According to  Ofei-Aboagye, a 90 year old woman known as Akua Denteh who lived in Kafaba in the Savannah Region has been lynched to death.

The terrible incident took place in the East Gonja Municipality of the Region.

The old woman who was accused of witchcraft by a soothsayer got herself in the hands of barbaric people who mobbed her to the end of her life on earth, saying that it is really heartbreaking that till date witch camps still exist in our motherland.

She therefore, calls on Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit, NGOs and all Civil Society Organizations(CSOs) to rise up to defend citizens from being put to this unwarranted suffering.

“We call on His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo as the President of the Republic of Ghana and the AU Gender Champion to task the necessary institutions to act swiftly and decisively.”

To a larger extent, organizations and associations who are in charge of Human Rights issues must work strictly by law to make sure such acts become a thing of the past.

“It is about time Ghana addressed this brutal and cruel phenomenon as a matter of national concern. We cannot continue to treat them as removed or isolated, localised issues.Ghana cannot continue to tout it’s human rights credentials if it cannot protect it’s citizenry, especially the vulnerable. The women of Ghana deserve better!”

Perpetrators of these acts must be strictly punished to serve as deterrent. It is rather unfortunate that this always happen to the less privileged in society.

“We hope that the late Madam Akua Denteh’s ordeal marks a turning point for changing the narrative on witchcraft accusations and the attendant human rights violations in Ghana.”

The Full Press Statement Reads:

“Our attention has been drawn to the lynching of 90-year old Akua Denteh at Kafaba in the East Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region. According to information available to STAR-Ghana Foundation, the old woman was accused of witchcraft by a soothsayer, and met her death at the hands of an angry mob. This is inhumane, appalling and condemnable! It is unfortunate that in the year 2020, such barbaric acts persist in Ghana. Over the years, Ghana has recorded several of such unfortunate incidents, involving women, mostly aged, resource-deprived and with no close family. They are accused of witchcraft and harassed by their accusers, without fair legal trial. Sometimes, they are banished from the community. Witch camps still exist in Northern Ghana, where such condemned and banished women live under undignified conditions.

We note that these acts persist because, often, perpetrators are not penalized decisively. This cannot continue. Ghana has an enviable record of human rights protection of its citizens and our country is signatory to several international human rights conventions and protocols. The 1992 Constitution guarantees protection for all Ghanaian citizens. All citizens, including young and older women are to live without unwarranted fear of being accused of witchcraft and the attendant harassment and abuses.

Over the years, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Ghana have committed to providing a life of dignity for women accused of witchcraft. From 2017 to 2019, STAR-Ghana partnered with Songtaba, a non-governmental organization (NGO), to support four (4) Assemblies to develop frameworks for managing witchcraft accusations such as instituting relevant byelaws. A National Reintegration Committee, which included the Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) and CSOs, put in a lot of effort to reduce the rate of witchcraft accusations, harassment and support reintegration processes. We are aware of several other organizations working in this regard. These efforts have targeted two main objectives:

 OBJECTIVES

Firstly, to improve conditions in witch camps through increased access to food, water and health services; and secondly to curtail the inflow of residents into the camps through the reduction of accusations and banishment.

Unfortunately, the gains from these efforts are continually threatened by the actions of unscrupulous citizens who have no regard for the laws of the country. These acts continue to undermine the national drive towards gender equality, human rights protection and development gains in general.

Barbaric acts such as witchcraft accusations perpetrated against women and the aged is a nationwide canker. Some of these acts manifest themselves in the activities of spiritual and prayer centres where grave human rights violations and abuses are meted out to victims including physical assault and gross neglect.

It is about time Ghana addressed this brutal and cruel phenomenon as a matter of national concern. We cannot continue to treat them as removed or isolated, localised issues. Ghana cannot continue to tout its human rights credentials if it cannot protect its citizenry, especially the vulnerable. The women of Ghana deserve better!

We call on His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the President of the Republic of Ghana and the AU Gender Champion to task the necessary institutions to act swiftly and decisively. The Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ghana Police Service, National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) and all relevant national and local institutions, including traditional authorities, must take urgent and sustained actions to nip this endemic practice. This should be done with no fear or favour for traditional, religious or ethnic sensibilities which undermine human and citizen rights as prescribed by our national laws and regulations. Our traditions respect and celebrate old age and the elderly. Above all, under the 1992 Constitution, cultural rights are subsumed under national laws and treaties. The case of the 90-year old woman, Madam Akua Dente, whose life has been brutally terminated, is no exception. Madam Akua Dente deserves justice and justice now!

We hope that the late Madam Akua Dente’s ordeal marks a turning point for changing the narrative on witchcraft accusations and the attendant human rights violations in Ghana.”