GAMBAGA WITCHES' CAMP, ANY HELP IN SIGHT?
GAMBAGA WITCHES' CAMP, ANY HELP IN SIGHT?
FEATURE BY PETER ATOGEWE WEDAM JANUARY 20, 2009
[JOURNALIST - ISD, GAMBAGA]
In this day and age where there are so many human rights organizations including the statutory Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, CHRAJ that fight to intensify and uphold respect for human dignity and fundamental human rights, it saddens me that rights abuse still permeate certain corners of our beloved country Ghana.
Where I worry much and habour grave concerns for victims of human rights abuse is the scenario where persons are coerced into confinement as a result of outmoded and barbaric traditional norms and beliefs.
This thus leads me to bring to the notice of or perhaps remind human rights organizations and indeed other civil society organizations about the plight and appalling conditions of life of inmates of the Gambaga witches camp in the East Mamprusi district of the Northern region.
Besides the Gambaga witches’ camp, the Northern region has four other witches’ camps situated at Kukuo in the Nanumba district, Tindan in the Yendi district, Kpatinga in Gushegu district and another at Nabuli in the Zabzugu-Tatale district.
This write-up will focus on the Gambaga Witches’ Camp [GWC]. The GWC has been home to many outcasts; mostly women from within and outside the Northern region since somewhere in the 1800s to date. The camp currently has 100 inmates comprising 99 females and one male. There are also 27 children in the camp belonging to the inmates. Thus the youngest in the GWC is as young as five years whilst the oldest inmate is 70 years old.
It is heartwarming however to note that 15 of the children here are put in mainstream formal education, thanks to the Presbyterian Outcast Home Project [POHP]. According to the Home Attendant at the GWC, Honourable Gladys Lariba Mahama, the Presby church took responsibility of the camp around 1960 and has since been catering for the housing, feeding, clothing, medical and other needs of the inmates. The church has been able to deliver to these needs over the years through the benevolence of its partners in the Netherlands and Canada whilst the Catholic Relief Services has been assisting with food rations.
I gathered from the home attendant that the GWC has its history dating back to the 18th century during the reign of Naa Baringa, the then King of Mamprugu. In those days upon being tagged or declared a witch or wizard by the community and traditional authorities, one was executed at an execution hill known as “Gbandazua” located between Gambaga and Nalerigu.
It was the execution of one witch by name Adisa from Simbaa in the Upper East region that defined the genesis of the Gambaga witches’ camp. At the time Adisa was about to be executed, she had her baby with her and chanced upon the then Imam of Gambaga [Imam Baba] who came passing. According to the home attendant, Adisa ran to the Imam and begged him to intercede for her life to be spared to which the Imam obliged.
Subsequently, Imam Baba took custody of Adisa and her child and later prayed for her and took her through religious lessons to give her a change of heart and mind and to denounce witchcraft. Many women with similar fate like that of Adisa, the witch, were later forwarded to the Imam at Gambaga and as the numbers increased, he intern handed over the “reformed witches” to the chief of Gambaga, Gambaa Rana to cater for them and also give them spiritual protection and this gave birth to the witches’ camp at Gambaga which became well organized in 1900 with the construction of thatch-roofed rooms to house the inmates.
However just as in many places of human existence, the camp lacks adequate accommodation to cater for the influx of inmates.
The home attendant at the camp, Honourable Lariba told me that reintegration of the inmates is ongoing; a process where first an inmate is given counseling and encouraged to return home and if a consensus is reached, the staff of the Presbyterian Outcast Home Project [POHP] then proceed to lobby the respective community of the inmate to accept the return of the inmate in question.
But sometimes this reintegration process may become expensive for the poor inmates as an inmate is required to pay between GH ¢50 and GH ¢60 plus a sheep and a guinea foul to the Gambaa Rana for sacrifice to pacify the gods before the inmate’s departure. Honourable Lariba noted this pushes the POHP to use its meager resources to assist pay these settlements and called for assistance from Non-governmental organisations [NGOs] and philanthropic individuals to help reintegrate the many inmates that are willing to return home.
Asked whether, the witches’ camp will close any time soon; she replied that as far as “we live in the society where people continue to believe in the existence of witch craft and often point accusing fingers at mostly women, the camp will exist to provide home to such unfortunate people”.
As my contribution to support the inmates in the Gambaga Witches’ Camp, I use this write-up to appeal to CHRAJ to collaborate with appropriate NGOs to put up a decent accommodation facility for the “reformed witches” at the camp and also address other human rights concerns at the camp. Also persons and corporate entities who can and have should quickly reach out to the Gambaga Witches’ Camp with any support they will be willing to give the inmates. Nana Oye Lithur who often writes in the Daily Graphic on issues relating to women should endeavour to visit the witches’ camp at Gambaga and see what can be done to help the inmates here.
FEATURE BY PETER ATOGEWE WEDAM JANUARY 20, 2009
[JOURNALIST - ISD, GAMBAGA]
In this day and age where there are so many human rights organizations including the statutory Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, CHRAJ that fight to intensify and uphold respect for human dignity and fundamental human rights, it saddens me that rights abuse still permeate certain corners of our beloved country Ghana.
Where I worry much and habour grave concerns for victims of human rights abuse is the scenario where persons are coerced into confinement as a result of outmoded and barbaric traditional norms and beliefs.
This thus leads me to bring to the notice of or perhaps remind human rights organizations and indeed other civil society organizations about the plight and appalling conditions of life of inmates of the Gambaga witches camp in the East Mamprusi district of the Northern region.
Besides the Gambaga witches’ camp, the Northern region has four other witches’ camps situated at Kukuo in the Nanumba district, Tindan in the Yendi district, Kpatinga in Gushegu district and another at Nabuli in the Zabzugu-Tatale district.
This write-up will focus on the Gambaga Witches’ Camp [GWC]. The GWC has been home to many outcasts; mostly women from within and outside the Northern region since somewhere in the 1800s to date. The camp currently has 100 inmates comprising 99 females and one male. There are also 27 children in the camp belonging to the inmates. Thus the youngest in the GWC is as young as five years whilst the oldest inmate is 70 years old.
It is heartwarming however to note that 15 of the children here are put in mainstream formal education, thanks to the Presbyterian Outcast Home Project [POHP]. According to the Home Attendant at the GWC, Honourable Gladys Lariba Mahama, the Presby church took responsibility of the camp around 1960 and has since been catering for the housing, feeding, clothing, medical and other needs of the inmates. The church has been able to deliver to these needs over the years through the benevolence of its partners in the Netherlands and Canada whilst the Catholic Relief Services has been assisting with food rations.
I gathered from the home attendant that the GWC has its history dating back to the 18th century during the reign of Naa Baringa, the then King of Mamprugu. In those days upon being tagged or declared a witch or wizard by the community and traditional authorities, one was executed at an execution hill known as “Gbandazua” located between Gambaga and Nalerigu.
It was the execution of one witch by name Adisa from Simbaa in the Upper East region that defined the genesis of the Gambaga witches’ camp. At the time Adisa was about to be executed, she had her baby with her and chanced upon the then Imam of Gambaga [Imam Baba] who came passing. According to the home attendant, Adisa ran to the Imam and begged him to intercede for her life to be spared to which the Imam obliged.
Subsequently, Imam Baba took custody of Adisa and her child and later prayed for her and took her through religious lessons to give her a change of heart and mind and to denounce witchcraft. Many women with similar fate like that of Adisa, the witch, were later forwarded to the Imam at Gambaga and as the numbers increased, he intern handed over the “reformed witches” to the chief of Gambaga, Gambaa Rana to cater for them and also give them spiritual protection and this gave birth to the witches’ camp at Gambaga which became well organized in 1900 with the construction of thatch-roofed rooms to house the inmates.
However just as in many places of human existence, the camp lacks adequate accommodation to cater for the influx of inmates.
The home attendant at the camp, Honourable Lariba told me that reintegration of the inmates is ongoing; a process where first an inmate is given counseling and encouraged to return home and if a consensus is reached, the staff of the Presbyterian Outcast Home Project [POHP] then proceed to lobby the respective community of the inmate to accept the return of the inmate in question.
But sometimes this reintegration process may become expensive for the poor inmates as an inmate is required to pay between GH ¢50 and GH ¢60 plus a sheep and a guinea foul to the Gambaa Rana for sacrifice to pacify the gods before the inmate’s departure. Honourable Lariba noted this pushes the POHP to use its meager resources to assist pay these settlements and called for assistance from Non-governmental organisations [NGOs] and philanthropic individuals to help reintegrate the many inmates that are willing to return home.
Asked whether, the witches’ camp will close any time soon; she replied that as far as “we live in the society where people continue to believe in the existence of witch craft and often point accusing fingers at mostly women, the camp will exist to provide home to such unfortunate people”.
As my contribution to support the inmates in the Gambaga Witches’ Camp, I use this write-up to appeal to CHRAJ to collaborate with appropriate NGOs to put up a decent accommodation facility for the “reformed witches” at the camp and also address other human rights concerns at the camp. Also persons and corporate entities who can and have should quickly reach out to the Gambaga Witches’ Camp with any support they will be willing to give the inmates. Nana Oye Lithur who often writes in the Daily Graphic on issues relating to women should endeavour to visit the witches’ camp at Gambaga and see what can be done to help the inmates here.
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