4-H Ghana, a positive youth development organization, with a focus to make young people self-directing, productive and contributing members of society has learnt with utmost shock and dismay the murder of Madam Akua Denteh, an over 90-year-old woman accused of witchcraft in the Savannah Region of Ghana.
Madam Akua Denteh was lynched in broad daylight at Kafaba in the East Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region. She was allegedly accused of witchcraft by a local fetish priestess.
4-H Ghana has condemned this gruesome, barbaric and wicked act and calls on the government and the security agencies to be investigating the matter, to fast-track the process in order to bring the perpetrators to book.
The Executive Director for 4-H Ghana Mr Appiah Kwaku Boateng in a press statement to the matter described the act as cruel and unfortunate. He has therefore urged the government and the security agency to ensure quick delivery of justice on the said matter.
Read the Full Statement
PRESS RELEASE
STATEMENT OF CONDEMNATION AND CALL FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION ON THE LYNCHING OF MADAM AKUA DENTEH, A 90-YEAR OLD WOMAN IN KAFABA IN THE EAST GONJA DISTRICT IN THE SAVANNAH REGION.
The world read with sorrow and disheartening, the gruesome, barbaric and obnoxious lynching of the 90-year old woman in Kafaba in East Gonja District of the Savannah Region, in Ghana. With Ghana’s level of development in over 63 years of independence, it has come with shock but not surprising because we have allowed impunity to destroy developmental processes, all in the name of TRADITION!!!!!
It should be noted that, developed countries we see today and admired at certain stage have to do away with some of these heinous and unwanted traditions and customs which impedes human development to get to where they are now. Several studies and sensitizations have been conducted by NGOs, CSOs, Governmental Institutions on some of these issues but NOBODY have seen wisdom to halt this inhuman practice, all in the realm of TRADITION!!!!
The unfortunate situation is having some people in authority accepting it as a value and a heritage from our ancestors which must continue, however, none of our political leaders (MPs, Ministers, etc) and the fortunate successful personalities from such communities have had their mothers and grandmothers in such situation. The solitary conditions in which these vulnerable women live is against their fundamental human rights enshrine in chapter 5 of 1992 Constitution.
Our Parliamentarians have been voted as law makers to pass legislations to free people from such arbitrary conditions they found themselves in the communities. We urgently need our law makers go to their communities and look at some of these critical issues and send to parliament for laws to be made for redress. How long shall we sit down and watch innocent lives of women and children suffer and die all in the name of TRADITION!!!!
4-H Ghana, a positive youth development organization, with a focus to make young people self-directing, productive and contributing members of society, believes in the United Nations Conventions and Treaties and the Constitution of Ghana that put human beings first in all developmental processes and make the following statement for immediate ACTION;
1. that, this is not a SIMPLE issue for Institutions like NCCE, CHRAG and NGOs etc to address. This is beyond these institutions which by law are mandated to educate and inform the citizenry on their rights and responsibilities. This is a deep rotten traditional norm that needs to be uprooted unequivocally without compromise.
2. We therefore, call on the Minister of Gender and Social Protection, representing the Executive arm of government, to as a matter of urgency, constitute a committee made up of CSOs, NGOs, and other governmental Institutions to come out with a draft bill to be submitted to Parliament to be enacted into law as soon as possible to outlaw this cultural practices such as Witchcraft Camps and all those associated be punished, Early child marriage, Trokosi, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and other practices which inhibit our developmental process.
3. We also call on Parliament to give such Bill a certificate of urgency in passing it into a law to outlaw this cultural practices, mentioned above which inhibit our developmental process.
4. We call on the President of Ghana, to give his accent as soon possible should Parliament pass into law.
5. We also call on the Religious Community, the Pentecostal Council, Catholic Bishops, Christian Council, The Moslem Council, the National Peace Council, CSOs, NGOs and well-meaning Ghanaians who believe in the restoration of dignity of these our unfortunate mothers and grandmothers to establish a fund to provide shelter, food and clothing as an immediate stop gap, while we wait for the relevant Ministries and Agencies to work on the laws.
6. We also challenge the various District Assemblies and the Regional Co-ordinating Councils in the affected Districts and Regions to immediately put together structures to liaise with the CSOs, NGOs, and other Religious Organizations to provide immediate relief as stated above.
7. We call on all Ghanaians not only to condemn this act but to act swiftly so that it is not put to rest as it has always been.
# BLACK LIVES MATTER
# VULNERABLE WOMEN’S LIVES MATTER
Thank you.
Appiah Kwaku Boateng
Executive Director /
Board member- Global 4-H Network
Source: Mybrytfmonline/Evans Boateng
