Witch Camps in Africa

 Witch camps are settlements where women in Ghana who have been accused of being witches can flee for safety. Women in such camps have been accused of witchcraft for various reasons, including mental illness. Some camps are thought to have been created in the early 20th century. The Ghanaian government has enacted measures to eliminate such camps.

Description

Women suspected of being witches sometimes flee to witch camp settlements for safety, often in order to avoid being lynched by neighbors.

Many women in such camps are widows; relatives are believed to accuse them of witchcraft in order to seize their late husbands' possessions. Many women in the witch camps also suffer from mental illness, a poorly understood phenomenon in Ghana. In one camp in Gambaga in the north, women are given protection by the local chieftain, and in return, pay him and work in his fields.

The Anti-Witchcraft Allegations Campaign Coalition-Ghana (AWACC-Ghana) has reported that the number of outcasts residing in witch camps is growing, and that food supplies there are insufficient.

Locations

There are at least six witch camps in Ghana, housing a total of approximately 1,000 women. The camps are located in Bonyasi, Gambaga, Gnani, Kpatinga, Kukuo and Naabuli, all in Northern Ghana. Some of the camps are thought to have been created over 100 years ago.

The Ghanaian government has announced its intent to close the witch camps and educate the public that witches do not exist. In December 2014, Minister for Gender and Social Protection Nana Oye Lithur disbanded the Bonyasi camp located in Central Gonja District and re-integrated its residents into their communities. As of 2015, the Ghanaian government had shut down several witch camps.

Gambaga Witch Camp

Gambaga Witch Camp is a segregated community within Gambaga township in the North East Region of Ghana established as a shelter to accommodate alleged witches and wizards who are banished from their communities.

The camp has about 25 round huts, and holds about 100 inmates. No health services or indoor plumbing are available.

Many women in Ghana's witch camps are widows and it is thought that relatives accused them of witchcraft. Other inmates in the camp have been accused of using black magic to cause misfortunes in their community. Many women also are mentally ill, a little understood problem in Ghana. In Gambaga, the women are given protection by the local chieftain.

Responses

The Brong Ahafo regional youth organizer of the New Patriotic Party, Kwame Baffoe has likened those who do not understand the party's controversial free SHS education policy to witches who should be sent to the Gambaga witch camp to understand the practicality of the policy.

The former first lady of Ghana, Lordina Mahama, donated assorted items to the alleged witches in the camp for their upkeep during her tour to the northern sector of the country.

Yaba Badoe made a documentary film, The Witches of Gambaga about the alleged witches.