Dr Bawumia (H.E) and Gambaga Witch Camp

A quick search of the township of Gambaga on the internet shows it as only about 49km and 50 minutes’ drive away from Walewale, the hometown our vice president, H.E Mahamadu Bawumia both located in Ghana’s North East Region.

Gambaga Witch Camp, a tragedy in modern Ghana is one of many places where peoples’ mothers and grandparents mostly women are packed in so-called prisons and penitentiaries under the absurd guise of witchcraft. The absurdity of a prison like Gambaga Witch Camp is not only that these vulnerable and mostly poor women are being inhumanely treated, but the fact the male equivalent of the witches(wizards) are believed to be ‘good witches’ who use their witchcraft to protect and provide for their families and communities.

Again, the more outrageous part of these places is that there are men calling themselves witchdoctors whom no one awarded neither degrees nor certificates manning posts and deciding the fate of people’s mothers and grandmothers whiles probably eviler than the witches they seek to protect the community against.

H.E Bawumia and our president H.E Akufo-Addo must disband all these witch camps now. We as Ghanaians cannot wait till Dr Bawumia becomes president (who knows when) before liberating the mostly poor women in the camps who live under conditions not even fit for a person’s worst enemy. Here Dr Bawumia could also help by building similar dormitories for these women who need more than a fresh start and the loudest apologies from all Ghanaians.

Gambaga Witch Camp and Tourism

Gambaga Witch Camp the most popular of these prisons was originally established in the 18^th century in the township of Gambaga in the North East Region to protect mostly women accused of witchcraft. The inmates included predominantly mothers and grandmothers who bore the brunt for other peoples’ misfortune. To save them from lynchings and other barbaric acts, the camp was established to house the victims of such circumstances. That was then and this is now and the Gambaga Witch Camp and others like it should all be disbanded and possibly designated as tourist sites with its history told in similar fashion to that of Salem, Massachusetts.

The camps must be disbanded immediately and possibly designated as tourist sites to help boost the local economy or the inmates replaced with politicians, pastors, imams, traditional priests other public and private servants whose deeds are far more evil and costly than the mostly mothers and grandmothers trapped in these places

Witchcraft and LGBT and Human Rights

Again, these witch camps must be disbanded immediately and the public, especially, those in these areas re-educated. Intense and aggressive social education and public broadcasting must be employed.

Additionally, lawmakers like Afenyo-Markin and Xavier Sosu who pride themselves as human rights advocates could lead the charge together with their allies both local and international including various nonprofits and CSOs. Although, the financial rewards for saving witches may be limited or close to nil, we all witnessed the passion exhibited by some lawmakers and advocates during the debate on LGBT. The same level of passion and tenacity could be extremely useful to the witches and wizards trapped in witchcraft prisons and penitentiaries across the nation.

In Conclusion, this writer wishes to emphasize that this is the 21^st Century; If men and women in Ghana could be proud of the affiliation and association with ‘Foreign Witchcraft’ as many Ghanaians perceive fraternal orders and sororities, and the penetration of a man’s anus by another man; Then the witches and wizards in Gambaga and other places in Ghana must be highly regarded. Disband All Witch Camps Now!

GYE NYAME!