NEWS COMMENTARY ON THE NEED TO ABOLISH WITCH CAMPS AS WE CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS, A SEASON OF LOVE

The 7th Edition of the Oxford Advanced learners Dictionary-International students version-defines witchcraft as the use of magical powers especially evil ones.

The same dictionary defines a witch is a man or woman who claims to have magic powers and to be able to use them for good or bad purposes.

In fairy stories a witch is a woman usually an old woman who has evil magic powers.

Many Ghanaians regardless of their religious affiliation believe witchcraft is real and can be destructive.

This non-empirical and intuitive mentality with no justification in today’s scientific world is unfortunately the reason behind the inhumane treatment usually meted out to people perceived or believed to be witches.

It is annoying, that in the 21st century where the claim of civilisation is pegged at its peak, with Christian and Islamic teachings purported to be at their best, coupled with the claim that rule of law is supreme in Ghana, there are as many as over 966 women and six hundred and seven (607) children detained in three out of the six witch camps in the Northern Region.

These are Ngani witches camp in Yendi, the Kukuo witches camp at Bimbila and the famous Gambaga witches camp at Gambaga.

Sadly the Ghanaian media only highlights the plight of witches in the northern part of the country as if it was a deliberate attempt to paint a dark picture of virtually everything in the north. The story of the 72-year old woman, who was burnt in the industrial city of Tema, by five adults for allegedly being a witch, a few years ago is still fresh in our memory.

The police in Takoradi also made public, the story of a couple who kept their nine year old son indoors until his death on the orders of a spiritualist that the boy was possessed by witchcraft.

The list is endless with prayer camps seemingly playing a dominant role in the persecution of so called witches.
Without attempting to endorse the purported acts of witchcraft, it is only fair that in the absence of any authentic proofs all human beings are treated fairly.

In virtually all cases, alleged witches, apart from being beaten mercilessly, are forced to drink unhealthy herbal concoctions to prove their innocence most of which are injurious to their health.

There is scientific evidence that some people who profess to be speaking with the devil or hearing voices of others including voices of the dead are simply hallucinating.

Medical science has proven that there are many psychological disorders that manifest in people especially at the menopausal or old age that make sufferers to sometimes behave in ways that some people may attribute to witchcraft.

Yet there is no correlation between the two.

The question is for how long shall we continue to infringe on the fundamental human rights of these so called witches most of whom are either from very poor homes or are very old in the name of culture? The 1992 constitution makes it clear that no one is guilty unless otherwise proven by a court of competent jurisdiction.
It is therefore criminal for anyone to hide behind culture and religion to infringe on the rights of others under the pretext of witchcraft.

Certainly the rights of some people have been grossly abused, in the name of witchcraft, and the time to end it, is now. The Ministry of Gender and Social Protection, the Ministry for the Interior together with the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice must ensure the immediate closure of all witch camps in the country and perpetrators dealt with accordingly. In the most infantile state of the mind it may be true that many of the accused may have committed demonic acts with witchcraft. What is however factually true is that many have been falsely accused and are suffering for accusations they have no knowledge of.

What is good for the goose we are told is good for the gander.
Lets remember that as we celebrate Christmas that the son of man came to die for our sins and do unto other as we will wish it done unto us.
Before God there is no Jew nor Gentile neither should we also see others as witches and others not.

All human beings are humans beings created by the same God who shows no partialities.

Let’s treat all people equally just as our God treats us.

BY GEORGE ASEKERE, A JOURNALIST