Do not send alleged witches to witch camps - Chiefs advised

Dr Joseph Whittal Commissioner of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has advised chiefs in the Northern part of Ghana not to direct people to send alleged witchcraft cases to the Chief Priests in witch camps for ritual performances to determine the guilt or otherwise.

He said this is because the alleged witches suffered Physical, Economic and Psychological Violence and were sometimes severely tortured after such labels were placed on them.

He said out of 32 million Ghanaians, only the mothers and sisters suffered Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and the law did not permit the chiefs to molest alleged witches in their communities.

He reminded them that as traditional leaders to report to the appropriate law institutions like the Ghana Police Service, CHRAJ, Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) for institutions for redress.

Dr. Whittal gave the advice during the stakeholders meeting on the protection of older women alleged as witches organized by CHRAJ in collaboration with the Embassy of France in Ghana for traditional leaders, Ghana Police Service, DOVVSU, Women Groups, Heads of Schools, Department of Social Welfare, National Commission For Civic Education(NCCE) at Yendi in the Northern Region.

He called on them to assist the legal institutions to eliminate the GBV in their areas because the old women suffered a lot from the alleged witchcraft cases and advised the chiefs not to settle criminal cases in their palaces.

He said the Chiefs should be a source of finding solutions to GBV through legal means in this part of the country and he hoped they all had the knowledge about the Chieftaincy Act in Ghana.

Dorcas Tiwaa Addai, Senior Principal Investigator at CHRAG, speaking on Gender-Based Violence towards women accused of witchcraft said accused women were often beaten, tortured, and generally maltreated.

She said Article One (1) of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (UDHR) states “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”.

During questions and contributions, the participants appealed to the government to enforce the Anti-Witchcraft law by punishing those involved in GBV.

They said people who are poor, and illiterate, are alleged to be witches, and no rich person is alleged to be a witch.