A 55-year-old woman, Joyce Boateng, has allegedly stabbed her 76-year-old mother, Afia Sarpomaah, to death in Abuakwa Asonomaso in the Ashanti Region.
The suspect claimed a pastor told her that her mother was a witch responsible for her problems.
This incident happened on Sunday, June 16, 2024.
The area’s assembly member, Isaac Adu Boateng, confirmed the incident, stating that he received a distress call and went to the scene, where he learned that the suspect had been arrested by the police.
According to Mr Boateng, the suspect confessed to the crime and claimed that a pastor had told her that her mother was a witch.
“After stabbing her mother, the suspect attempted to commit suicide by drinking weedicide but was apprehended and sent to the hospital for treatment,” he revealed.
The assembly member noted that the body of the deceased has been deposited at Afari Hospital’s morgue while the suspect is currently in police custody and undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The incident occurred at Enyan Ankukrom in the Ajumako Enyan Essiam District of the Central Region.
According to reports, suspect Adwoa thought that the victim, Abena Kyere, a neighbour, was responsible for her son’s death several years ago.
The suspect stormed the victim’s home on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, and, without provocation, started hacking her with a machete until some family members rushed to intervene.
These are happening despite a ban on witchcraft accusations.
Parliament passed the Criminal Amendment Bill 2022, which criminalises the declaration, accusation, naming or labelling of another person as a witch in Ghana.
The amendment bill, passed on Thursday, July 27, 2023, also forbids anyone from practising as a witch doctor or witchfinder.