Police officers in Ghana came under attack in the country’s northern region when they tried rescuing a woman accused of witchcraft in a town called Gbulahagu in Tamale metropolis.
On Sunday night youth of the community set ablaze the house of the elderly woman accused of being a witch and attempted lynching her when the police intervened.
The spokesperson for the police in northern Ghana, ASP Mohammed Yussif Tanko told Starr FM that the police officers were forced to escape “what could have been the deadliest tragedy to befall the regional security service”.
The police is said to have received reports of an imminent attack on a 35yr old Meimunatu Nindoo who was facing allegations of possessing black magic which she uses to cause deaths of other residents.
The victim was not given the opportunity to respond to the charges and was attacked immediately like how most alleged witches in Ghana are treated when accused of such an act.
Youth who were bent on lynching the victim fired gunshots and threw stones at police officers who had come in to rescue the victim.
“The police team managed to leave the community with broken windscreens, back screens and side glasses. When they left the community they realised that, in the heat, one of their men had been left in their community….so they quickly mobilized a sent men there and he was rescued and brought back,” Tanko said.
Police are unable to locate the victim who was about to be lynched but Tanko said “The case is under currently investigations and everything possible will be done to ensure that the perpetrators will be brought to book”.
Ghana continues to struggle to deal with attacks on elderly women accused of witchcraft with many of the victims fleeing their communities for safety.
Source: Africafeeds.com