No connection between killing of 90-yr old woman and Islam – Chief Imam expresses disgust

The National Chief Imam has condemned the killing of a 90-year old woman in the Savanna region, while her abusers chanted Islamic slogans.

His spokesperson, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, in his address at the virtual celebration of Eid-ul Adha, said there was “no connection between Islam and that heinous crime.”

“We want to distance ourselves from this act…This is a display of utter lack of compassion, wickedness and callousness,” he said.

The killing of 90-year-old Ekua Denteh, which has sparked the outrage in the country, happened at a farming community in Kafaba.

The feeble 90-year-old was dragged 800 meters away from her home only to be lynched in broad daylight, while the community members cheered.

Armed with a whip and what appeared to be a wooden board, she was caned, kicked and slapped while the amused community members watched.

The deceased was seen in a viral video pleading with her attackers to spare her life as she denied the accusations of being a witch.

Her son has said, she was beaten with a Qur’an on three separate days as her attackers tried to perform exorcism.

Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu said he also observed from the video that the heinous crime was committed with chants of ‘Allah Wakubalu’ being heard at the background.

Allah Wakubalu is a liturgical proclamation meaning ‘Allah is most great’. It is used to accept the sovereignty of Allah and also shows a common form of thanksgiving.

“Chanting of the Islamic slogan, Allah Wakubalu, during the heinous crime was most unfortunate,” he noted, “In our view it was done to give Islamic justification to a crime of this nature.”

He argued that it was wrong for the two spiritualists to invoke Allah’s name while engaging in such treacherous acts.

The National Chief Imam’s spokesperson, said the Islamic principles rather teaches respect and love for the elderly people.

“The Qur’an tells us that your paradise lies beneath the feet of your mothers and this barbaric act should not be condoned,” he maintained.

He, has therefore charged the security agencies to ensure that the perpetrators are made to face the full rigors of the law.

At least six people, including the Chief of the community, Kafabawura Seidu Yahaya, have been remanded by the Bole District Magistrate Court.

The police, in their desperation, to find the culprits, have increased the bounty for the two women who are at large.

The unfortunate incident has revived discussions about witch camps in Ghana.

Vulnerable old widows, sometimes having mental problems, are summarily accused of witchcraft and dragged to witch camps.

The five regions of the north have at least six witches camp at Bonyasi, Gambaga, Gnani, Kpatinga, Kukuo and Nabuli.

Meanwhile, news of witches being tortured has started coming up at the police stations. Since the brutal lynching of a 90-year old woman, Mariama Akua Denteh at Kafaba, another woman accused of witchcraft, has been brutally tortured by the two spiritualists involved in the killing of the grandmother.

The latest victim is currently on admission at a hospital in Salaga.