Two remanded in police custody for allegedly lynching 90-year-old woman

Two suspects in the alleged lynching of an elderly woman in Kafaba, a community in Salaga in the Savanah region, have been remanded into police custody by the Tamale High court.

On July 30, 2020, viral videos emerged of the horrific lynching of an elderly woman, Akua Denteh, alleged to be a witch by some persons in the Kafaba community. They blamed her for being behind the retarded development in the community.

She denied the accusations but some youth in the community got enraged, following which they invited a self-styled soothsayer, Serena Mohammed, a resident of Yeji, to perform an exorcism on her and some twenty-three other women within the Savannah region.

In the videos, the late Akua Denteh was seen being tortured by other women, under the supervision of Serena Mohammed until she became unconscious, leading to her death.

Haruna Aness, 34; Issifa Tanko, 35; Shaibu Muntala, 29; Sulemana Ali, 35; and Issifa Zakyibo, 32; Latifah Bumaye, 25; and Serena Mohammed, were arrested by the Salaga Divisional Police days after and subsequently arraigned before the Tamale High Court.

On Monday, January 18, 2021, His Lordship Justice Richard M. Kagyapwah ruled that two of them: Serena Mohammed and Latifah Bumaye, be remanded into prison custody on the charges of conspiracy and murder.

The court resumes on January 22, 2021, to continue hearing the case.

A police sitrep shared with www.zamireports.com read:

On 18/1/2021 at about 1045 hours, accused persons Hajia Serena Mohammed and Latifah Bumaye appeared before the Tamale High Court One, presided over by His Lordship Justice Richard M. Kagyapwah. Counsel for the accused persons as well as the seven member juror were present. State prosecutors from the Attorney General’s Department, Tamale were also present. The trial of the accused persons has commenced. They were however remanded back into the Tamale Central Prisons to re-appear on 22/2/21 for continuation.