By Clara Quainoo (GIJ Intern)
OccupyGhana has joined the many Ghanaians seeking justice for the lynching of the 90-year-old woman Akua Denteh at Kafaba in the Savannah Region.
Occupy Ghana is therefore calling for the arrest everyone who witnessed the incident, as it described the incident as “heart-breaking and barbaric act.”
In a statement last Monday, the Group noted that the act is, but one of many such lynching incidents that plague the Ghanaian society where victims of lynching were not only suspected criminals but also often elderly women accused of being witches.
It said, mob justice in itself is terrible but unfortunately, “it is a rather dark side of our country’s history and does not seem to want to go away.”
“It is unconstitutional, barbaric, unjust, unfair and criminal, and often has fatal consequences. The fact that in this day and age, there are Ghanaians who still believe in the superstition that witches exert an enormous deleterious influence on life and the punishment for this alleged pernicious activity which should be death by lynching, is unbelievable. It hints at how deep the belief in erroneous, dangerous and arcane customs are and how much these beliefs influence life in the country,” Occupy Ghana noted.
According to OccupyGhana, what occurred at Kafaba, before the murder of the 90-year-old woman, was a trial by ordeal, which is a second-degree felony under section 315 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29).
The statement said, each of the persons captured on the video as being present were guilty of the misdemeanour of being present when the crime was taking place, under section 316 of the Act for not taking any step to prevent the crime, “all those persons are guilty of a second misdemeanour under section 22 of the Act.
“We therefore call for the arrest everyone who is identified as being present. Faced with the prospect of jail, they are very likely to help identify and track all the perpetrators in the murder. We further ask that the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) step up its efforts to educate the population about superstitions and arcane customs and practices. A program reminding Ghanaians about the need to respect each other’s’ civil and human rights is also direly needed.”
The Group also called on the Gender and Social Protection Ministry to enforce the closure of the so-called ‘Witch Camps’ and allow poor women and children to re-join society with adequate protections.
It said, the Ministry has an obligation to offer vocational training to the occupants of those camps to aid their reintegration and embark on an education program aimed at teaching people in at-risk areas that witchcraft is a superstition for which no one should die.
According to a 2018 Human Rights Report by the US States Department, there are more than six witch camps spread throughout the northern regions of Ghana.
These camps are said to hold about 2,000-2,500 adult women and 1,000-1,200 children and the numbers could be larger.
Occupy Ghana also made references to Article 15 of the Constitution which demands respect for the dignity of all persons, stating that “The dignity of all persons shall be inviolable. No person shall, whether or not he is arrested, restricted or retained, be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; any other condition that detracts or is likely to detract from his dignity and worth as a human being.”
“In spite of these constitutional rights, any fetish priest or priestess can get women and children assaulted and even killed with the simple yet dangerous designation of ‘Witch.’ This video has incited the usual uproar and the Police has even publicized a letter about the investigation. The President has spoken about it. We understand that some arrests have been made. We commend the police on being on the case. However, soon we will forget about this incident and another poor woman will be accused of being a witch and assaulted, even killed.”
