Court remands a 'pastor' and four others, over witchcraft allegation

The Bolgatanga District Court, presided over by His Worship Osman Abdul-Hakeem, has remanded another set of five persons in Prison custody, for threatening and molesting three old women they suspected to be witches, at Gare, in the Talensi district in the Upper East Region.

The Court also granted a Bench Warrant to the Police for the arrest of one Tarebon who is on the run.

Their remand comes just two days after some five suspects were remanded in Police custody in connection with the lynching of an old woman, in the same Talensi district.

On Thursday June 15, 2017 Police in Bolgatanga brought five persons, including a 29 year old Evangelist, Akwesi Ali Baba, before the Bolgatanga Court over an alleged witchcraft accusation. They are to reappear in Court on June 30, 2017.

Presenting the facts in Court, Police Prosecutor, Inspector Gilbert Boaten Addae said the four other suspects, Doug Sapak, Mba Gudabe, Missah Samlate, Malupaaya Mbanyia are farmers.

The Evangelist has been charged with publication of false news intended to cause fear and alarm to the public. The others were charged with threat of death, unlawful entry and causing unlawful damage.

On June 6, 2017, at about 6:00am, the 29 year old Evangelist accused the three old women of being witches and based on that, the other accused persons and others, led by one Tarebon, who is on the run, organised and attacked the three women and threatened to kill them.

The old women managed and ran to the Palace of the Gare Chief, to report the accusations leveled against them.

The accused managed to whisk the women from the Chief”s palace to meet a “Witch Doctor” at Yeliwongo, a borders town between the Bongo district in the Upper East and the Republic of Burkina-Faso. While there, the women were subjected to a trail ordeal at the hands of the “Witch Doctor” for three days.

On June 9, 2017, the accused brought the women back to Gare and told the Chief that the women have been confirmed to be witches by their “witch Doctor” at Yeliwongo and that, they were sending the women to Gambaga for another trail.

The Chief refused them their desire and asked them to release the women, which provoked them (accused), who threatened to kill the women, and for that reason, the Chief decided to keep the women in his Palace.

The accused went to the rooms of the women in search of a pot the Evangelist had told them they had been bewitched them with.

A concerned resident who heard of the incident, reported the case to the Police. Police proceeded to the scene, but the accused persons run away on seeing the Police, but were later arrested later.

On June 15 the Evangelist was also arrested at Pelungu upon a tip off. He appeared in Court with a swollen eye, which he might have had from the people who apprehended him before the Police arrived at the scene.