Lynching of 90-year-old woman: We don't need a foundation to honour her - Amnesty to President

The Country Director of Amnesty International, Robert Akoto Amoafo, has advised the government to put in place a long term plan to resolve issues of human rights violations and barbaric acts happening in Ghana.

According to him, setting up foundations to remember them by is not enough.

Speaking in an interview with Happy 98.9 FM’s Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, he said, “We don’t need a foundation for the late Madam Akua Denteh.”

“We have a Ministry responsible for such things. The President must call the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cynthia Mamle Morrison and ask her what she has done about the issue.”

He motioned that if till now the Ministry has not done anything about the situation at Kafaba and other towns where women were accused of witchcraft and treated harshly, then now is the time for them to act.

Robert appealed to the government to enact and enforce laws so incidents like the Kafaba killing never repeats itself.

“We are an NGO and can only go there to educate the people and play an advocacy role but the government should put in place a long term plan on how to solve such issues.”

A woman identified as Madam Akua Denteh, was on Thursday beaten to death at Kafaba, a farming community in the Salaga South Constituency by some local residents who accused her of witchcraft.

She was accused of being responsible for the slow pace of development and hardships suffered by the youth in the Kafaba community.

After reports of the incident reached the media, it attracted so much condemnation from human rights advocacy groups and some civil society organizations.

The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who is touring the Savannah Region has also charged the Police as a matter of urgency to resolve the murder of Akua Dentah.

He also expressed support for a foundation established in her memory (Akua Denteh) by the Savannah Regional Coordinating Council to campaign against such beliefs, human rights violations and barbaric acts in the area.