Shut down 'witch' camps – GPCC as it condemns 'barbaric' lynching of 90-year-old

The Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) has said it is time for the government to consider closing down the various “witch” camps in the country.

The Council also called for the reintegration of the inmates of those camps mostly found in the Northern Region of the country, into society through their families.

The call by GPCC comes days after a 90-year-old woman, Akua Denteh, was lynched following an accusation of witchcraft levelled against her by a seer, who had been invited by the villagers to help them drive away their misfortunes.

Scores of the locals watched aloof as two women flogged and bludgeoned the helpless grandmother despite her pleas of innocence.

Ghanaians have condemned the cruel act.

On Monday, 27 July 2020, President Nana Akufo-Addo said the lynching incident has “disfigured the face of our nation.”

Mr Akufo-Addo said he hopes “the quick response of the police will lead to the rapid administration of justice in this unfortunate matter”.

In a statement issued by the Council and signed by its General Secretary, Rev Emmanuel Teimah Barrigah, the GPCC added its “voice to those of other well-meaning Ghanaians in calling for serious investigations and arrest of all those involved in this heinous crime, which can best be described as very cruel and barbaric.”

The Council emphasised: “We must, at all cost, seek justice for this 90-year-old woman and all those who have suffered such atrocities in the past.”

According to the Council, “it is heart-breaking to note that in this modern day and age, our society seems to be drifting into an era of lawlessness where some people can take the law into their own hands”.

“There is an urgent need to inject some discipline and sanity into our everyday behaviour as a society.

“We must intensify our education of the public on what their rights as citizens are and what they can do or not do so as to make the society a safe and secure place to live in”, it added.

The Council further indicated: “There is also the need to consider whether it is not time to close down “witch” camps which are predominantly found in the Northern Regions and find ways and means of reintegrating inmates of such camps, who are mostly elderly women and sometimes their children and grandchildren, into the society.

The GPCC added that the lessons of such gruesome murders must be used “to right the wrongs in our society. The elderly, weak and vulnerable must be targeted for the care and protection of our society.”