Witchcraft Accusations in Ghana Might Be Banned by New Regulation

ACCRA (Reuters) – Ghana’s parliament on Friday handed a invoice to guard individuals accused of witchcraft, making it a criminal offense to abuse them or ship them away from communities.

The brand new regulation was prompt after a 90-year-old lady was lynched in Kafaba within the East Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Area in July 2020, drawing condemnation from native and worldwide rights teams.

Whereas it isn’t unusual for individuals to be accused of witchcraft in sub-Saharan Africa, significantly in rural communities, the girl’s dying triggered a public outcry due to the brutal means she was overwhelmed and killed.

The brand new invoice may even order the dismantling of makeshift camps the place individuals shunned by their communities take refuge.

Round 500 individuals, primarily aged ladies and kids, stay in 5 such camps within the north of the nation, in accordance with Amnesty Worldwide.

“The regulation will present a authorized framework to prosecute offenders… and provides confidence to victims… to reintegrate into their communities and unite with their households,” Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional, Authorized and Parliamentary Affairs, mentioned on the ground of Parliament.

President Nana Akufo-Addo must approve the invoice for it to take impact.

Amnesty Worldwide’s nation director hailed it as a win for Ghana and for humanity.

(Reporting by Christian Akorlie and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila; Modifying by Sofia Christensen)

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