Witchcraft in Ghana: A Human Rights and State Accountability Crisis

By Regina Pasipanodya

In the north of Ghana, accusations of witchcraft have brought vulnerable people, especially women, into a desperate plight where they are fighting for survival and their dignity. It is an issue that is deeply embedded in cultural beliefs and frequently characterised by the usurpation of human rights when the investigated are typically dumped in make-shift camps where they are isolated and deprived access to basic services.

The recent report by Amnesty International, “Branded for life”, reveals the dark lives led by the people labeled as witches who are mostly victims of prejudice on account of their sex, age, disability, poverty, or irregular success.

A Deadly Stigma.
Usually in the northern towns of the Northeast in Ghana, witchcraft allegations are oftentimes as a result of superstitious beliefs, which are in turn popularized by the death or severe illness of a neighbor.

Nevertheless, in many cases, the main incitement of such rumours is the personal animosity of the accuser or their enthusiastic imagining of things happening afar. Such allegations typically happen to the elderly of the community, usually, the widows without adult sons or other groups usually marginalised by society.

In these categories of people, the damaging combination of belief and discrimination makes it impossible to continue being alive and secure, as the most basic rights have been stripped off from them.

Many of these people are forced to abandon their homes so as to save their lives and avoid violence and death, thus disposing of all their belongings.

For some people, being out from under these accusations is not the equivalent of being safe—it denotes an existence in a new locality where the inhabitants are placed under a traditional priest.

A survey conducted by Amnesty International revealed the deplorable condition in the camps, which has to do with the people who are victims of hunger, have insufficient shelter, and access to clean water is very limited. It has been confirmed by the government that they are hardly doing anything to supply safeguard and necessities for the people, thus they are further experiencing the hardships.

Although they are susceptible to being accused of witchcraft, they are seen bending the rules when seeking protection from the authorities. Complaints about the violence which is the result of being charged with witchcraft generally go unreported to those who work in law enforcement, and in most of these reported cases only a handful seem to be thoroughly investigated.

Due to the non-existence of a law that punishes the perpetration of witchcraft on a different front, and on the other side, a lack of countrywide publicity on campaigns regarding the areas that are most affected, the accused are simply left without any means to be helped.

According to the report, one woman who was subject to a lot of pressure told the police: “If I reported the matter to the police, the accusers would have killed me. The situation was on another level that I could not handle.”

The provisions in the camps are substandard. The little cash transfer support that is provided by the government often is not enough and many times not all those who need it get it.

They are therefore left with no option but to depend on charity or work on others’ farms to survive.

In addition to this, they lack proper shelter which is not only uninhabitable but also with leaking roofs and flood-prone floors.

The situation is even direr as the scarcity of water has led those that get water from the rivers to walk for hours, especially women, to the river down the mountain.

In spite of the fact that most camp dwellers have national health insurance, they are also unable to buy the necessary medications so that many remain untreated for such diseases as chronic pain, blood pressure issues, or skin conditions.

Mental health issues are common with some contemplating suicide as a result of the stigma and difficulties they are undergoing.

As one woman disclosed in the report that, “I was thinking of committing suicide because the accusation was too much. It was so painful.”

Amnesty International has urged for a fast and necessary fixing of this situation by suggesting a nation-wide campaign aimed at the eradication of witchcraft accusation-related discriminatory practices, combined with the proper financing of the action.

“”There should be a regulatory framework that involves penalizing such abuses is a must to see to it that the people liable are punished and that the unprotected are protected against.”

Also, the agency stresses the need to equip police departments with sufficient resources and to set up stations in proximity to the affected regions.

During this period, the government has to provide the camp dwellers with decent housing, clean water, and food as a matter of priority. The scale and continuity of financial aid programs have to be such that everyone is able to have the basic necessities. Amnesty International holds that these measures are imperative for breaking the cycle of marginalization and at the same time giving justice to the accused through witchcraft.

What is happening to people in Northern Ghana that have been accused of witchcraft is a glaring example of how unstoppable public beliefs, in the absence of a rule of law and government intervention, can result in serious human rights violations.

So long as there is no appropriate intervention to these acts, the deep-rooted discrimination issue will keep defying the dignity and safety of those groups.

The government of Ghana is therefore urged to change the situation and concentrate on the protection of those people who have stayed at the periphery for too long.