19-year-old man killed by lightning at Dodi-Papase in Oti Region amid claims of spiritual cause

Dodi-Papase, Oti Region – A 19-year-old man, Justice Berina Komla, from Dodi-Kpomkpa community, has tragically died after being struck by lightning on Friday, October 17, at Dodi-Papase in the Kadjebi District of the Oti Region.

According to reports gathered by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the incident occurred while the young man was uprooting a palm tree on a nearby farmland. A local traditional leader who spoke on condition of anonymity said Justice had successfully uprooted two palm trees and was working on the third when the lightning struck.

Eyewitnesses described the thunderclap as unusually loud and terrifying, followed by frantic screams from nearby farmers who discovered Justice lying motionless on the ground. As of Saturday afternoon, October 18, his body remained at the scene, awaiting traditional rites before removal.

The local traditional authority told the GNA that some community members suspected the lightning strike might not have been a mere natural occurrence. There were claims that the deceased may have stolen an item belonging to another resident, who allegedly invoked the power of the thunder god Zakadza to seek retribution.

Zakadza, revered in several parts of the Volta and Oti regions, is traditionally believed to possess the power to strike wrongdoers dead with thunder when invoked through specific rituals by aggrieved persons seeking justice.

The traditional leader added that a delegation had been dispatched to consult a spiritualist to determine the spiritual cause of death and advise on the appropriate purification and burial rites. According to local custom, the body cannot be touched or buried until the necessary rituals are performed, especially in cases suspected to involve spiritual forces.

The sudden and mysterious nature of the incident has plunged the Dodi-Papase community into shock and fear, with residents divided between attributing the tragedy to divine punishment or a natural lightning strike. Others have urged calm and advised waiting for the outcome of the ongoing traditional consultations.

Local authorities have not yet commented on the matter, and it remains unclear whether the police will conduct an investigation. While lightning strikes are relatively common during Ghana’s rainy season, such occurrences often take on spiritual interpretations in rural communities where sudden deaths are rarely viewed as purely natural phenomena.