Witch camps are settlements where women in Ghana who have been accused of being witches can flee for safety. Women in such camps have been accused of witchcraft for various reasons, including mental illness. Some camps are thought to have been created in the early 20th century. [1] The Ghanaian government has enacted measures to eliminate such camps. [2]
Women suspected of being witches sometimes flee to witch camp settlements for safety, often in order to avoid being lynched by neighbours. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Many women in such camps are widows; relatives are believed to accuse them of witchcraft in order to seize their late husbands' possessions. [8] Many women in the witch camps also suffer from mental illness, a poorly understood phenomenon in Ghana. [9] [8] In one camp in Gambaga in the north, women are given protection by the local chieftain, and in return, pay him and work in his fields. [10] [11]
In 2015, the Anti-Witchcraft Allegations Campaign Coalition-Ghana (AWACC-Ghana) reported that the number of outcasts residing in witch camps was growing, and that food supplies there are insufficient. [12] A 2022 report by the Humanist Global Charity noted that conditions were still very difficult with inadequate housing and infrastructure. [13]
In 2012 there were at least six witch camps in Ghana, housing a total of approximately 1,000 women. [8] The camps are located in Bonyasi, Gambaga, Gnani, Kpatinga, Kukuo and Naabuli, all in Northern Ghana. [14] Some of the camps are thought to have been created over 100 years ago. [8] [12] [15] [16] [17] [18]
In 2012, the Ghanaian government announced its intent to close the witch camps and educate the public that witches do not exist. [19] [8] In December 2014, Minister for Gender and Social Protection Nana Oye Lithur disbanded the Bonyasi camp located in Central Gonja District and re-integrated its residents into their communities. [20] As of 2015, the Ghanaian government had shut down several witch camps. [21]
By 2020, there were four camps at Gambaga, Kukuo, Gnani and Kpantiga, [22] housing over 500 people.
In July 2023, the Ghanaian Parliament passed a Bill to proscribe witchcraft accusations; this Bill criminalised the practice of accusing or labelling people as witches. [23] This came after the 2020 murder of 90-year-old Akua Denteh in Kafaba, who had been accused of witchcraft. [24]
However, at April 2024, the Ghanaian president had not yet given assent to the Bill. [25] [26]
Witchcraft is the use of alleged supernatural powers of magic. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic or supernatural powers to inflict harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, "Witchcraft thus defined exists more in the imagination of contemporaries than in any objective reality", but it "has constituted for many cultures a viable explanation of evil in the world". The belief in witchcraft has been found throughout history in a great number of societies worldwide. Anthropologists have applied the English term "witchcraft" to similar beliefs in occult practices in many different cultures, and societies that have adopted the English language have often internalised the term.
Amina Mama is a Nigerian-British writer, activist and academic. Her main areas of focus have been post-colonial, militarist and gender issues. She has lived in Africa, Europe and North America, and worked to bridge the gap between feminists and related movements across the globe.
The status of women in Ghana and their roles in Ghanaian society has changed over the past few decades. There has been a slow increase in the political participation of Ghanaian women throughout history. Women are given equal rights under the Constitution of Ghana, yet disparities in education, employment, and health for women remain prevalent. Additionally, women have much less access to resources than men in Ghana do. Ghanaian women in rural and urban areas face slightly different challenges. Throughout Ghana, female-headed households are increasing.
Christianity is the largest religion in Ghana, with 71.3% of the population belonging to various Christian denominations as of 2021 census. Islam is practised by 19.9% of the total population. According to a report by the Pew Research, 51% of Muslims are followers of Sunni Islam, while approximately 16% belong to the Ahmadiyya movement and around 8% identify with Shia Islam, while the remainder are non-denominational Muslims.
Helen Ukpabio is the founder and head of African Evangelical franchise Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries based in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. She is widely accused of causing large-scale harassment and violence against children accused of witchcraft.
Witchcraft accusations against children in Africa have received increasing international attention in the first decade of the 21st century.
Gambaga is the capital of the East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly in the North East Region of Ghana. Once a residence of Mamprusi-kings it is still the capital of East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly, a municipality in the North East Region of Ghana. It is home to several ancient Mossi chiefs' gravesites.
Leo Igwe is a Nigerian human rights advocate and humanist. Igwe is a former Western and Southern African representative of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, and has specialized in campaigning against and documenting the impacts of child witchcraft accusations. He holds a Ph.D. from the Bayreuth International School of African Studies at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, having earned a graduate degree in philosophy from the University of Calabar, in Nigeria. Igwe's human rights advocacy has brought him into conflict with high-profile witchcraft believers, such as Liberty Foundation Gospel Ministries, because of his criticism of what he describes as their role in the violence and child abandonment that sometimes result from accusations of witchcraft.
Yaba Badoe is a Ghanaian-British documentary filmmaker, journalist and author.
Witch-hunts are a contemporary phenomenon occurring globally, with notable occurrences in Sub-Saharan Africa, India, Nepal, and Papua New Guinea. Modern witch-hunts surpass the body counts of early-modern witch-hunting. Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, and Nigeria, experiences a high prevalence of witch-hunting. In Cameroon, accusations have resurfaced in courts, often involving child-witchcraft scares. Gambia witnessed government-sponsored witch hunts, leading to abductions, forced confessions, and deaths.
Gambaga Witch Camp is a segregated community within Gambaga township in the North East Region of Ghana established as a shelter to accommodate alleged witches and wizards who are banished from their communities.
Lordina Mahama is a Ghanaian former First Lady of Ghana who served as first lady from 2012 to 2017. She is married to the fourth President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama. Prior to becoming First Lady, she was the Second Lady of Ghana from 2009 to 2012.
Cinema of Ghana also known as the Ghana Film Industry nicknamed Ghallywood, began when early film making was first introduced to the British colony of Gold Coast in 1923. At the time only affluent people could see the films, especially the colonial master of Gold Coast. In the 1950s, film making in Ghana began to increase. Cinemas were the primary venue for watching films until home video became more popular. The movie industry has no official name as yet since consultations and engagements with stakeholders has been ongoing when a petition was sent to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture which suspended the use of the name Black Star Films.
Hajia Alima Mahama is Ghana's first female ambassador to the US. She is a lawyer and was from January 2005 to January 2009 Minister for the affairs of women and children in Ghana under President John Kufuor. She was also the Ghanaian Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, appointed into office by President of Ghana Nana Akuffo-Addo on 10 January 2017 to 7 January 2021. Hajia Alima also served as the Member of Parliament for Nalerigu/Gambaga constituency and a member of the New Patriotic Party in the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic.
Witch-hunts are still occurring in Nepal in the twenty-first century, and the persecution of marginalised individuals of the community, especially women, still persists. Witchcraft is believed to be the exercise of supernatural powers by witches. Although Nepal does not have a recorded history of systematic witch-hunts, belief in the supernatural, magic, and humans capable of exploiting both to do good or harm is pervasive. In many instances, witch-hunts are simply tribal scapegoating measures carried out to serve ulterior motives, such as getting revenge or winning property disputes.
Ama Hemmah (1937–2010) was a Ghanaian woman who was burned to death on suspicion of being a witch.
Witchcraft is deeply rooted in many African countries and communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has been specifically relevant to Ghana's culture, beliefs, and lifestyle. It continues to shape lives daily and with that it has promoted tradition, fear, violence, and spiritual beliefs. The perceptions on witchcraft change from region to region within Ghana, as well as in other countries in Africa. The commonality is that it is not something to take lightly, and the word spreads fast if there are rumors' surrounding civilians practicing it. The actions taken by local citizens and the government towards witchcraft and violence related to it have also varied within regions in Ghana. Traditional African religions have depicted the universe as a multitude of spirits that are able to be used for good or evil through religion.
The Humanist Association of Ghana (HAG) is a humanist organization of atheists and agnostics living in Ghana who espouse humanism as a way of life, fight for the protection of human rights and promote critical thinking.
In Africa, witchcraft refers to various beliefs and practices. These beliefs often play a significant role in shaping social dynamics and can influence how communities address challenges and seek spiritual assistance. However much of what witchcraft represents in Africa has been susceptible to misunderstandings and confusion, thanks in no small part to a tendency among western scholars since the time of Margaret Murray to approach the subject through a comparative lens vis-a-vis European witchcraft. The definition of witchcraft differs between Africans and Europeans which causes misunderstandings of African conjure practices among Europeans. While some colonialists tried to eradicate witch hunting by introducing legislation to prohibit accusations of witchcraft, some of the countries where this was the case have formally recognized the existence of witchcraft via the law. This has produced an environment that encourages persecution of suspected witches.
