There are no 'witch' camps in Tamale and Sagnrigu - Ministry of Gender

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and its Partners- ActionAid Ghana in a press release has responded to a publication by Today Newspaper on a story headlined "FREED WITCHES CRY FOR HELP".

The report states there are no witch camps in Tamale and Sagnrigu; therefore no such camp could have been closed down.

The release states that such publication is false and facts on the ground do not support it.

Read the full statement below:

It has come to the attention of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and its partners- ActionAid Ghana, the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture among others, a story published in the media with the heading: Freed ‘Witches’ Cry for Help’.

We would like to state that the story published is false and the facts on the ground do not support it.

The story alleged that “witches in Tamale and Sagnarigu Districts are in dire need for shelter at the Bonyasi Witches Camp in the Central Gonja District.” This, the paper explained, was “as a result of the humiliation and name-calling received at the hand of their relatives and friends.” The paper further “recalled that the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection some months ago closed down Tamale and Sagnarigu witches camps all in the Northern region.”

We wish the reporter who wrote the story had done his checks properly because the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection did not close down “Tamale and Sagnarigu witch camps in the Northern region.” Indeed, the witch camp the Ministry and ActionAid Ghana, together with their partners closed down was the Bonyasi camp in the Central Gonja District of the Northern Region. There are no witch camps in Tamale and Sagnrigu and therefore, no such camp could have been closed down there.

According to the paper, “one of the alleged victims, Samata Alhassan, revealed that her community members treated her like an “outcast and enemy of progress.” It also mentioned one Hawabu Iddi as complaining of ill treatment from her siblings. In fact none of the alleged witches ‘freed’ at the Bonyasi camp bear the names referred to in the report.

ActionAid Ghana has led intensive advocacy campaigns towards the reintegration of the accused women into mainstream society and is following a roadmap to disband the camps.

The organisation has compiled comprehensive data on all the residents of the witch camps in the Northern region, together with their dependents.

As part of the reintegration programme, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection collaborated to close down the Bonyasi Witch camp on 15th December, 2014 following a national conference on witchcraft accusations and human rights abuses at the International Conference Centre on 10th December, 2014.

We wish to state that we are pursuing very practical and proactive actions, including education and community sensitization, to eventually close down the remaining five camps.

The belief in witchcraft is deeply rooted in traditional cosmology and we recognise the emotional sensitivities associated with the activities at the witch camps and the negative treatment often meted out to innocent and accused women.

ActionAid and partners are constantly in touch with the freed alleged witches. Our checks and investigations reveal that so far none of them has complained of ill treatment from friends, relatives or community members.

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and ActionAid as well as the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture are working to uphold the rights of the freed alleged witches.

We shall continue to do so to ensure that they enjoy the freedom they have gained, to enable them contribute to the development of their communities.