Residents of Sefwi Wiawso and its environs in the Western Region are living in fear following reported cases of suspected ritual killings that have rocked those areas in recent times.
Sefwi Boako, a farming community in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality, was thrown into a state of confusion yesterday over suspected ritual murders of three people, including an eight-year-old girl. Some vital parts of the bodies of the victims were missing, according to reports.
Yesterday there was a fierce clash between the Sefwi Boako residents and the police when the people allegedly attempted to lynch the suspected murderer who was purportedly seeking refuge at the chief’s palace.
According to sources, the irate residents, wielding machetes and clubs, were protesting against the alleged ritual killings of the three people in the area.
Information gathered that the police were called to the chief’s palace to help maintain law and order but immediately their vehicle got to the area, the angry residents reportedly started pelting them with stones, leading to the clash.
It was alleged that one policeman was even injured in the process.
Supt Victor Abrokwa, Sefwi Wiawso District Police Commander, confirmed the incident to journalists.
He indicated that because the number of police personnel who were dispatched to the area was quite small, his men had to retreat, adding that the police were yet to get hold of the alleged murderer for interrogation.
He indicated that the irate residents barricaded the area and prevented the police from entering the palace.
According to sources, the suspected murderer purportedly killed two persons at the weekend and murdered the eight-year-old girl yesterday.
Akwasi Addai, an eyewitness, noted that a mentally unstable man was killed two weeks ago and later found in a bush with his eyes and other parts missing.
He continued that a security man of a popular boutique in the area was also found dead in front of the boutique yesterday morning.
He indicated that midmorning yesterday, the suspected assailant allegedly attacked and hacked the small girl to death with a machete while she was going to fetch water in a nearby stream.
According to the eyewitness, the attacker was seen by two farmers who raised an alarm and the assailant took to his heels.
The farmers, together with other residents who came around, were said to have given him a hot chase and arrested him in a bush with blood stains on him.
Akwasi Addai added that the attacker, who was a stranger in the area, was sent to the chief’s palace where he allegedly confessed that he was hired to get some human parts by someone who wanted to use them (parts) for ‘blood money.’
Akwasi Addai added that the traditional authorities kept the suspect and later wanted to hand him over to the police but the residents resisted and rather demanded an instant justice by lynching.
Meanwhile, some indigenes of Sefwi Wiawso have bemoaned the fact that over the years the Sefwi area has earned a bad name as a haven for ritual murderers.
They mentioned the infamous case in the mid-1980s of a nine-year-old boy, Kofi Kyintoh, who was beheaded by his uncle for ritual purposes, as well as many other ritual murder cases.
Source: modernghana
