Police go after cemetery ritual organizers

The stool father of the Prampram Traditional Area, Numo Osabu Abbey, is assisting the Police in Tema in the investigation of a case involving rituals for fortification.

Two persons, Martey Kodie, 22, and Daniel Anertey Abbey, 23, have accused the stool father of causing their blood to be extracted for ritual purposes meant to fortify them in their land guard activities.

As part of the investigation, the Tema Police are looking for the owner of a shrine at Kasoa in the Central Region who allegedly collected the blood of the two men.

A highly-placed source at the Police Headquarters who confirmed the arrest of Numo Osabu Abbey, said that the young men claimed their lives were being threatened after they were initiated into a cult but later opted out.

According to the police source, the two land guards suspect others from the supposed cult entertaining fears that their activities could be exposed, of carrying out the threats.

On the performance of the rituals, the source alleged that both Martey Kodie and Anertey Abbey who were part of a land guard group the stool father allegedly created, were invited to the latter's home at Prampram one night at about 10.00pm to receive payment for a job done.

The source continued that the report indicated that all members of the illegal group were present only to be introduced to a fetish priest said to have come from Kasoa to fortify them.

The priest reportedly ushered them to a shrine situated in the house of the stool father and ordered to undress and squat.

Holding GHC10 currency notes each in their hands, a fowl was slaughtered. Its blood was mixed with spices and poured in front of the squatting persons who were made to recite oaths of loyalty to the stool father and the group.

Members present were made to lick with their tongues and swallow the blood mixture direct from the ground.

The next stage took them through an act of cutting parts of their bodies with razor blades after which the fetish priest inserted black powder into their wounds.

The spiritualist allegedly held eggs which he threw from close range to the chest of each member and offered alcoholic drink mixed with black powder for them to swallow.

A white goat was slaughtered and its blood stored in a bucket and the spiritualist accompanied the land guards to the local cemetery on the Ningo road at midnight for a continuation of the rituals.

While in the city of the dead, the fetish priest commanded the group to surround a pit in which the dead goat, bucket containing blood and other unseen items were dumped as he chanted.

All of a sudden, a pall of smoke billowed from the pit followed by a loud explosion.

Back home and to the shrine of the stool father, each person was stripped naked and bathed with the concoction in the bucket from the cemetery.

The dead goat was used to prepare light soup, the meat fed on without breaking a single bone.

From thence, the group members were informed of their initiation, fortification, loyalty to the stool father in all things and allowed to go back to their respective homes.

Not satisfied with the ordeal they were taken through, Martey Kodie and Anertey Abbey consequently absented themselves from further activities of the land guard establishment which had created panic among the members.

After sometime, unknown persons started knocking on their windows at midnight with threats to eliminate them for betraying the stool father.

On Wednesday, July 25, the Police Intelligence Directorate at the headquarters, in collaboration with the Tema Regional Police Command, embarked on a massive operation at Prampram. The prime suspect, Numo Osabu Abbey together with 15 others, were arrested.

When the stool father's house was searched, three locally-made single barreled guns, two pump action guns, a military water bottle and an easy snap HD camera were retrieved.

The stool father has since been granted police enquiry bail whilst efforts are underway to locate the said Kasoa-based fetish priest.