Gborbu Wulomo in ‘hot water’ as police investigate marriage to 12-year minor
The sixty-three-year-old spiritual leader of the Nungua Traditional Area, Gborbu Wulomo, is the subject of an investigation by police over his marriage to a 12-year-old minor.
When she was six, the girl was selected for the traditional priest, Nuumo Borketey Laweh XXXIII, and a marriage ceremony was held on March 30 at Nungua to seal the union.
Gborbu Wulomo-Shitse is also the high priest (spiritual head) of the Gadangme State.
However, the marriage sparked a public uproar, prompting the police to intervene and initiate criminal investigations as child marriage violates Ghana’s laws.
Marriage or informal union in which one or both parties involved are below the age of 18 is considered a child marriage.
Child marriage is illegal in Ghana – both the 1992 Constitution and the 1998 Children’s Act set the legal age for marriage at 18 for both girls and boys.
In developing countries, it is estimated that one in seven girls marry before age 15 and 38% marry before age 18, according to a UNFPA UNICEF Fact Sheet.
Again, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) estimates that 4.4% and 5.8% of women aged 15–49 married by the exact age of 15 in 2006 and 2011, respectively. In addition, among women aged 20–24, the proportion who married before the exact age of 18 was 22% in 2006 and 21% in 2011.
On Sunday, April 1, the Ghana Police Service issued an update to inform the public that they have “identified and located the 12-year-old girl who is alleged to have been married to the 63-year-old Gborbu Wulomo in Nungua, Accra”.
As part of the processes to ensure the safety of the victim and her family, “the girl and her mother are currently under police protection”.
The Ghana Police Service said they were working with the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection and the Department of Social Welfare to provide her with the necessary support while the matter is being investigated.
The development has caused a division among GaDangme chiefs.
While some traditional leaders have condemned the act, traditional custodians and the people of Nungua are defending the marriage.
Paramount Chief for the Sempe Traditional Area, Nii Adote Otintor II, has criticised the actions of the Gborbu Wulomo, but the Gborbu Wulomo temple has dismissed dissenting comments.
A spokesperson for the temple, Nii Bortey Kofi Frankwa II, maintains that Naa Yomo Ayemuade, the adolescent, has been designated to attend to one of the 99 deities of the Ga-Dangbe ethnic group, which necessitates her being a virgin.
“What is happening is a dent on the reputation of all Ga Dangbe people. I am telling all Ga youth that this is the time for them to rise. Some leaders of the ethnic group are dragging the tribe through the mud. If we play with things like this, it will cast dirt on the community,” he said.
Nungua leaders explained that the rites had to be performed so she could perform certain duties, including her role as the head of all the queen mothers and fetish priestesses of Ga Dangme land.
As a spiritual leader, the Gborbu Wulomo is among the community’s highest-ranking officials and wields significant power and influence.
He performs sacrifices on behalf of the community, prays for its protection, enforces cultural practices, and leads traditional rites during events such as the installation of traditional chiefs.