The lingering witch camps phenomenon featured as a question during the vetting of Ministers-Designate for the Northern and North-East Regions, who offered honest and holistic answers, but does that water grounds of hope for victims confined in the 18th-century Gambaga Witch Camp and the others?
Despite the Chairman of the Appointments Committee clarifying that the closure of the camps requires a legal framework, the fact that the Gender Minister-Designate was not questioned about it during the one-hour-and-37-minute vetting—where she faced 95 questions—leaves much to be desired.
The five witch camps with about 600 inmates remain a delicate issue. While their existence constitutes human rights abuse and gender-based violence, they also serve as a refuge and home for victims of assault, stigmatization, and rejection, making it a challenge requiring a well-structured alternative.
The Legal Limbo
It has been one year and six months since former President Akufo-Addo refused to sign the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (Anti-Witchcraft Bill) after it was passed in Parliament on July 28, 2023—119 days after it was laid before the house by Madina MP Xavier Sosu on March 31, 2023.
The president cited concerns over the bill’s potential impact on the Consolidated Fund, arguing it flouts Article 108 of the 1992 constitution which states that Parliament cannot introduce or amend bills or motions that impose or increase taxes, place charges on public funds, authorize withdrawals from public funds, or forgive government debt unless the proposal is made by or on behalf of the President and approved by the presiding officer.
This, however, is in contravention of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women’s (CEDAW) concluding observations of the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Ghana in November 2014, which directed the state to:
“Ensure the swift closure of all remaining ‘witch camps’ and that alleged witches are provided with adequate rehabilitation and safe reinsertion into their communities or with alternative housing and livelihood options.”
Ghana signed this treaty on February 2, 1986.
Could the road to having the Anti-Witchcraft Bill passed become clearer now that there is a new government? Fortunately, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has disclosed plans to engage President Mahama to have the bill passed into law, which ignites hopes of a groundbreaking approach.
Enough strides have been made through multi-faceted approaches to deal with witchcraft accusations and its attendant issues, especially through the efforts of the Gender Ministry and organizations like Songtaba, ActionAid, the Go Home Project, CHRAJ, and the Reintegration Committee.
Past Efforts Under the NDC and NPP
Under the NDC in 2014, the Bonyase Witch Camp, located in the Central Gonja District in the Northern Region, was closed down by the Ministry of Gender under Nana Oye Lithur, freeing the 55 inmates, women aged 48 to 90 years, back into their communities.
The inmates in the various camps were then enlisted on Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) benefits, with further steps initiated to extend social protection support under the MASLOC Credit Scheme and the LESDEP Skills Building Programme. Nana Oye Lithur also promised to close down the Gushegu camp, but this was not realized.
It was not until 2019, under the NPP, that through the concerted efforts of partners and the Gender Ministry, the Nabuli Camp was closed, freeing 44 inmates.
Calls for the complete disbandment of witches’ camps heightened in 2020 following the murder of 90-year-old Akua Denteh in July and the attack on Meri Ibrahim in August at Sumpini in the West Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region.
The closure of the camps should not be over-celebrated, as it does not provide a holistic response hence promises from some past Gender Ministers to rebrand or rename them to change the perspective and purpose of the camps from a repressive space into homes and rehabilitation centers for the traumatized victims.
A Structured Approach
Worth commending and adopting are the short, medium, and long-term approaches introduced by Nana Oye Lithur: Short-term: Providing financial support for the victims.
Medium-term: Linking them to social interventions like LEAP and NHIS.
Long-term: Disbandment and reintegration.
Currently, there are five witch camps: Gnani Camp, Kukuo Camp, Gushegu Camp, Gambaga Camp and Kpatinga Camp. The gender ratio within these camps stands at 1 male: 12 females, revealing a clear misogynistic pattern.
Additionally, reports from these camps highlight cases of rape, financial exploitation, diversion of relief supplies, verbal and emotional abuse, and forced labor.
Given these concerns, it was pertinent for the Gender Minister-Designate to be questioned about it during her vetting. Although she did not face scrutiny on the subject, it is the expectation that the gravity of the matter would not be lost on her.