Lynching of 90-yr-old: STAR-Ghana urges Akufo-Addo to act

STAR-Ghana Foundation has called on Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as not only President of Ghana but also the Gender Champion of the Africa Union to “act swiftly and decisively” on the issue of the lynching of Akua Denteh, 90, accused of witchcraft in Kafaba in the Savannah Region. The non-governmental organisation claims the practice has been endemic and that urgent steps should be taken to stop this forthwith. This was contained in a statement issued by the Chair of the Governing Council of STAR-Ghana, Esther Ofei-Aboagye. Find statement below: PRESS STATEMENT ON THE LYNCHING AND DEATH OF 90-YEAR OLD ALLEGED WITCH IN SAVANNAH REGION 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 to2019, 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 bye-laws .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 (2) main objectives: 1.To improve conditions in witch camps through increased access to food,  water  and health services; and 2.To curtail the inflow of residents into the camps through the reduction of accusations and banishments. 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  sensibilitieswhich  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. Signed: ESTHER OFEI-ABOAGYECHAIR,STAR GHANA GOVERNING COUNCIL Source: editors.3news.com|Ghana