60-year-old woman nearly killed over witchcraft allegations

A 60-year-old woman, Amina Mahama, escaped death by the whiskers after an attack by residents of Nakpali, a farming community in the Zabzugu District.

The residents burnt the woman’s house to ashes and would have been killed but for the intervention of the police.

An eyewitness Musah Shani said a branch of a baobab tree fell on a young man, Sulemana Issah, in the community killing him instantly.

The residents accused the woman of being the cause of the unfortunate incident and torched her house on Tuesday, April 19.

Sangani TV’s Sualisu Iddrisu told theghanareport.com that a family member quickly reported to the Yendi CHRAJ Director, who called in the police to rescue the woman.

Meanwhile, the family of Amina has threatened retaliation if the perpetrators are not brought to justice.

The regions located in the north are notorious for such acts, with perpetrators escaping from stiff punishment as a deterrent.

Discussions on the issue gained prominence in 2020 after a brutal lynching of a 90-year-old woman at Kafaba, a community in the Savannah Region.

This was followed by a woman believed to be in her 50s who was wounded badly, barely escaping lynching at her home.

Maria Ibrahim was attacked at Sumpini in the West Gonja District of the Savanna Region after community members accused her of practising witchcraft.

Many surviving victims find refuge in camps set up purposely to accommodate women accused of witchcraft with the flimsiest of evidence.

The five regions of the north have at least six witches camp at Bonyasi, Gambaga, Gnani, Kpatinga, Kukuo, and Nabuli.