In July of this year, Ghana’s Parliament voted to criminalize accusations of witchcraft, a move that aims to combat the persecution faced by individuals accused of practicing witchcraft.
If the bill is signed into law by the president, it will also result in the closure of camps where accused witches live in exile.
The legislation was prompted by the tragic lynching of a 90-year-old woman in Kafaba in July 2020, an incident that drew widespread condemnation from both local and international human rights groups.
Accusations of witchcraft have severe social consequences, tearing families apart, jeopardizing social cohesion, creating unnecessary orphans, and displacing vulnerable women from their homes, families, and communities.
The proposed bill seeks to criminalize the act of declaring, accusing, naming, or labeling individuals as witches, with such accusations potentially leading to imprisonment.
Ghana currently has at least six witch camps, accommodating approximately 1,000 women. These camps, situated in Bonyasi, Gambaga, Gnani, Kpatinga, Kukuo, and Naabuli in northern Ghana, are believed to have existed for over a century.
The bill, presented as an amendment to the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29), was sponsored by various Members of Parliament, notably championed by Francis Xavier Sosu, the Member of Parliament for Madina. Its primary objectives are to deter assaults on alleged witches and prohibit individuals from practicing as witch doctors or witchfinders.
For the bill to become law, it requires approval from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.