Salamatu who is in her late years has been forced to live in the Ngani Alleges Witches camp believed to be where witches are exorcised, in the Yendi Municipality in the Northern Region of Ghana. This was after her step-son and his friends accused her of been a witch and threatened to kill her.
The poor old woman said she woke up one morning to the news that her stepson and some other boys were planning to lynch her if they saw her near the mosque. She said that morning she couldn’t go to the mosque for prayers because she wasn’t feeling well. She said her sister broke the news to her after she overheard them plotting to lynch her.
“Nobody told me I have committed a crime which could be said to be witchcraft. When I woke up one morning to have my morning prayers, I was shivering and couldn’t stand it. My instincts told me not to go to the mosque so I did the prayers at home. When I went to my sister, she told me she overheard some people saying they would shoot me dead if they see me in the mosque.” Salamatu told crimecheckghana.
According to Salamatu, she went to tell the Chief about the threats on her life. On her way back, she saw a mob led by her step-son wielding clubs coming towards her. She said she hurriedly ran back to the palace when she heard one of them threatening her not to escape whiles they gave her a hot chase.
“They said I should let the Chief of the area know about the threat. When I told the chief, he said he will summon those who threatened me so he asked me to go and come the next day. When I was returning home, I saw some men with hoes, machetes, and pick-axes coming to attack me. Whiles they were chasing me to the Chief’s palace, they threw their weapons at me but they missed.” Salamatu narrated.
Salamatu said even when the Chief cautioned them that he will call soldiers to arrest them, they disregarded it and told him they would lynch her before the army arrived. According to her, the chief gave up and asked one of his sons to let her brother take her home. She said her brother asked her step-son to escort her to the witches camp because he does not want the issue to escalate.
“My brother told me that he is a stranger in the town so he cannot resolve the issue so I should go with them to the camp. All that while my mother was at the camp in the room I live now. He said they should bring me to the camp to take care of my mother, because if they take the issue back to the Chief it will become a big problem and he can’t help it.” She said.
Poor Salamatu said they starve because before they will get food they will have to help people on their farms.
Crime Check Foundation, CCF is appealing to the public to support its new project of saving innocent women from the witches camp.
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