Host of TV3’s New Day Berla Mundi has shared her findings into a research she did on witches’ camps in the northern part of the country.
She revealed that men who are accused of wizardry in that part of the country are purified and declared clean to enable them return to the society to continue their daily routine activities.
But women who are accused of witchcraft are kept in the witches’ camp and denied the purification.
She regarded this as unfortunate and unfair treatment meted out to the women.
Berla Mundi was speaking on the Sunrise morning show on 3FM Tuesday, August 18, in relation to the lynching of a 90-year-old woman at Kafaba in the East Gonja Municipality in the Savannah Region on the accusation that she was a witch.
“I went to Kukuo (a community in the Northern region)…because Gambaga has received all the attention. In actual fact, there are also some other [camps] and they are all in the Northern Region.
“The males who are accused of being wizards and purified are sent home but the women who are accused of witchcraft are kept. They don’t have the benefit of purity at all unfortunately.”
She added: “Kukuo is not a witch’s camp, it is just a community that has decided to receive these women who are tortured and banished from their communities.
“Even though the chief of Kukuo doesn’t believe in banishing women, he would still allow you to go through the purification process.
“I thought it was still a problem because if you say you don’t believe in it why are you allowing these women to go through it? But he said it is also to protect his people because witchcraft does exist.”
Regarding a plan by the Gender Ministry to dissolve witches camps, Berla said this issue goes beyond just the closure of the camps.
“I have had a problem even with the Gender Ministry’s claim that we should close the witch’s camp” because “I don’t think we should have a conversation about closing the witch’s camp , it goes beyond that,” she said.
By Laud Nartey|editors.3news.com|Ghana
