Trapped In Superstition – Ghana’s Trepidation Of Old Frail ‘Witches’

Ghanaians condemned in unison the dastard killing of the over 90-year-old frail woman who was accused of being a witch. What formed the basis of our anger was the fact that the video captured a crowd of people who looked and cheered on without a smidgen of pity nor rushing in to help the nonagenarian as she was being plundered to death.

The last time a witch was killed in America was in 1693, a staggering 327 years ago. Even with that, the town of Salem in Massachusetts which is infamous for that, has instituted several projects in a bid to assuage those killed for the bogus accusation of practicing witchcraft.

Most part of developed Europe had their last witch hunting several centuries earlier compared to America. In Africa the belief is still here. Some perceived witches may not be physically killed but the economic, social and psychological deprivation is equally efficacious to push them to their graves much earlier.

Although I was equally angered by the killing, I was never surprised by the actions of those young stupid women who committed that despicable act. They reflected the general thinking of most of our citizens but those women took it a notch higher.

We live in a country where we have poor old women ostracized from their community and stripped off their inheritance before being dumped in deplorable “witch camps” in the year 2020. We live in a country where pastors have the effrontery to parade young girls on television as witches and we never condemn it.

Many Ghanaians ascribe their problems to the making of some people who are spiritually against their progress. They end up running from one church to the other seeking the panacea to their physical problems in a spiritual tandem.  This can explain why so many churches have sprung up all over advertising oil and holy water as the best antidote to drive away witches.

We have people not talking to their parents because a pastor or other so-called spiritual seers branded them witches. We have parents who have abused their own children because they were told those kids were witches. The community where the lynching took place is a Muslim one, meaning that weird belief is not limited to one religious group.

In a sane African country, that old lady should have been surrounded by children at her feet telling stories of the past and reminiscing a great life well lived. Instead, there she lay in her bloodied body like a rabid dog whose existence is inimical to the people around and so was smashed off.

The Gender Ministry is yet to issue a condemnation to that unfortunate incident. So-called human rights purveyors are looking the other way round while the story is yet to get the attention of civil society groups. These are people who are always quick to push a denunciation on issues of unimportant nature.

The superstition in the country will always be the bane of our development since we spend our productive hours praying against unseen spiritual witches to the detriment of economic activities. The quicker we do away with that stupid belief in witchcraft the better for us.

We need to join the rest of the world in pursuit of a civilization where superstition is relegated to the background and science and technology become our focus if we really want to have a country that is economically vibrant.

I must commend the police for their swift arrest of those women. It proves that you cannot physically attack someone because you were told he or she is attacking you, spiritually. They must be arraigned before a court immediately. Let them prove to the judge how they knew a ninety-something year old woman is to blame for their poverty-stricken lives.

Soldier on my dear old lady and all others who have fallen pathetically because of witch hunting. Your only crime was been born in a country where a large chunk of her citizens live in trepidation of some old frail looking women whom they believe have a meeting in the dead of the night to plan accidents, miscarriages and poverty.

I hope this general consensus brings closure to this issue. You have the right to believe in witches but that should not push you to attack those you perceive to be one. Our old ladies need to live dignified lives after living a difficult one right from birth. Long live my beloved Ghana.

SOURCE: AfricaCelebrities.com