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Respected private legal practitioner, Samson Lardy Ayenini, has revealed that people who only stood by and observed as a 90-year-old woman, accused of witchcraft, was killed by two other women face up to three years in jail for looking on without intervening.
The deceased, Akua Denteh, was lynched at Kafaba near Salaga in the Savannah Region after a female spiritualist accused her of witchcraft.
As the spiritualist and another woman lynched her, many of the villagers stood by and observed while other made videos of the gruesome incident.
Many have called for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the heinous act. But Mr Anyenini has revealed that Ghana’s laws do not just punish people who carry out crimes but those who look on within intervening or reporting the commission of the crime.
He stated that the observers or onlookers could go to jail for up to three years while the people who carried out the trial by ordeal face up to 10 years.
The trial by ordeal led to the death of the old woman and it is unclear what charge will be preferred against the perpetrators for her eventual death.
Many have condemned the act, calling for prosecution. The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has issued a statement, calling on the law enforcement agencies to act swiftly.
