Ya-Na condemns lynching of two persons over witchcraft accusations

Ya-Na Abukari II, Overlord of Dagbon, has condemned the recent lynching of two persons over an accusation of witchcraft, at Zakpalsi, in the Mion District of the Northern Region.

Ya Na Abukari II said lynching people over witchcraft accusations was not right and had no justification in the Dagbon traditional area.

He said. “No one has the right to take the life of another man,” adding that, “all the factions involved in the lynching incident at Zakpalsi are my children.

“If they had informed me earlier, we could have addressed these issues amicably without anyone losing his or her life,” Ya Na Abukari II said, when a delegation from the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), led by the Sector Minister Hajia Lariba Zuweira Abudu, paid a courtesy call on him at the Gbewaa Palace at Yendi to seek his support to stop the lynching of people accused of witchcraft in the Northern Region.

Ya Na Abukari Il commended the MoGCSP for the visit and pledged to institute measures to intensify sensitisation and advocacy to help safeguard the rights of persons accused of witchcraft in the traditional area.

Hajia Abudu said the visit formed part of her two-day working tour of the Northern and North East Regions to solicit the support of the traditional authorities on the need to institute measures to help address issues of witchcraft accusations and the lynching of victims.

She said the recent lynching of two persons at Zakpalsi was worrying, especially considering the numerous efforts put in place by the government and other stakeholders to stop such acts in the country.

She said: “We cannot develop as a nation if a section of our population is continually subjected to abuse and discrimination. The perpetrators will be made to face the laws of our country.”