Parliament’s Human Rights Committee pledges to reintroduce anti-witchcraft accusations bill after visit to alleged witches’ camps

The Human Rights Select Committee of Parliament has pledged to work with Parliament and the government to reintroduce the Anti-Witchcraft Accusations Bill for passage and presidential assent to protect the rights of victims of witchcraft allegations.

Committee Chairperson Mr Ernest Yaw Anim gave the assurance in Tamale during a media and stakeholders’ briefing at the end of a three-day fact-finding tour of alleged witches’ camps in the Northern and North East Regions. The visit, facilitated by the Coalition Against Witchcraft Accusations (CAWA), took members to the Gnani and Kukuo camps in the Northern Region and the Gambaga camp in the North East Region.

Mr Anim, joined by MPs including Mr Elvis Dapaah, Mr Anthony Sumah, Mr Onyina Acheampong, Mr Frank Asiedu Bekoe, Mr Ohene Kwame Frimpong, Madam Laurentia Gewornu, and Mr Alfred Nii Kotei, said the Committee would compile a report for the Speaker of Parliament and engage ministries and stakeholders to design reintegration strategies for inmates.

“The camps we visited reflect a reality that our mothers, sisters, and daughters have found refuge there, but their presence also represents a challenge because it reflects deeper issues of stigma and fear,” Mr Anim said. He emphasised that witchcraft accusations and banishments should not persist in the 21st century, calling for stronger community sensitisation.

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The Committee donated GH¢3,000 and a television set to the Gambaga camp, GH¢5,000 to Gnani, and GH¢2,000 to Kukuo, urging corporate bodies, religious groups, and traditional authorities to support protection and reintegration efforts.

Mrs Linda Ocloo, Greater Accra Regional Minister, said the Bill was about restoring dignity and ensuring no citizen is subjected to unfounded accusations. Hajia Lamnatu Adam, Executive Director of Songtaba, identified poverty, illiteracy, and widowhood as key drivers of accusations and stressed the importance of public education.

A representative of Amnesty International appealed to the Speaker of Parliament to treat the Bill as a matter of urgency, noting that it not only criminalises accusations but also protects the accused.

The Anti-Witchcraft Accusations Bill was previously passed by the eighth Parliament as a private member’s bill, but failed to become law after the then-President withheld assent.