Gender Committee petitions Speaker over witches’ menace

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Gender, Children and Social Protection is set to present a report on the witches menace in Ghana to the Speaker of Parliament.

The report seeks to address the issue of witchcraft accusations that has resulted in the creation of witch camps in some parts of the country.

In an interview with Alfred Ocansey on the Sunrise morning show on 3FM, the sector minister, Cynthia Mamle Morrison, noted that works on the report are far advanced and will be presented to the Speaker for debate to help draft a policy to permanently address the issue of witchcraft accusations in the country.

“We are concluding on the compilation of the report and send it to the Speaker this week. I said we because I did not go alone, I paid the visit with my colleagues on the Gender Committee in Parliament as being tasked by the Speaker of Parliament who is passionate to see the end to this cancer,” she said.

She further expressed commitment in ensuring a swift prosecution of persons involved in lynching women who are accused of witchcraft.

“The chief of the community where Meiri [Ibrahim] was nearly lynched was arrested to produce the boys who engaged in the barbaric act. They will be arraigned before the court and dealt with appropriately to deter others from carrying similar acts.”

Meiri Ibrahim was attacked in her house around 10:00 pm Saturday, August 29 by machete-wielding young men at Sumpini in the West Gonja District of the Savannah Region.