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Media Andwitchcraft Accusation in Northern Ghana

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Media Andwitchcraft Accusation in Northern Ghana Secular Studies 1 (2019) 186–203 brill.com/secu Media and Witchcraft Accusation in Northern Ghana A Study of the Dagomba Community Leo Igwe University of Lagos [email protected] Abstract There has been a growing visibility of witchcraft beliefs in the African media. The dom- inant paradigm in the academic literature on witchcraft is that the media reinforce witchcraft beliefs by disseminating information and ideas that are related to witchcraft accusations and witch hunting. However, a careful examination shows that this is not always the case because the media serve other counter purposes. Using ethnographic data from the Dagomba area in Northern Ghana and the concept of forum shopping, this paper explores how accused persons in the Dagomba communities utilize the lim- ited media coverage to enhance their responses to witchcraft accusations. Apart from disseminating information regarding the activities of assumed witches, the media pub- licize perspectives that reject witchcraft notions. Keywords media – witchcraft – accusation – Dagomba – Ghana 1 Introduction: Witchcraft Accusation in the News Recently, reports on witchcraft accusation have generally been visible in the print and broadcast media in Ghana. These reports highlight cases of allega- tions not only against men and women but also children. They inform the pub- lic about the claims, activities and operations that are associated with accused persons, the treatment meted out to them as well as specific interventions of state and non-state institutions on the issue of witchcraft allegation. A few © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2019 | doi:10.1163/25892525-00102001Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 07:15:26AM via free access media and witchcraft accusation in northern ghana 187 examples include: “Ghana Witch Camps: Widows’ Lives in Exile,” (Whitaker, 2012); “Ghana’s Witch Camps Last Refuge of the Powerless and the Perse- cuted,” (Morrison, 2012); “Gambaga Chief Wants Support for Accused Witches,” (Adombilla, 2014); “Kill This Witch Belief” 2015; “The Spiritual Shackles: A Peep into theWitches’ Camp” (Gyesi, 2015); “DOVVSU to Rescue GirlsTaggedWitches in Bomase Eastern Region,” (2015). In addition there are numerous documen- taries on alleged witches and witch sanctuaries in Ghana (see for example “Witches In Exile” (2005); “Ghana Witches,” (2008); “The Witches of Gambaga,” (2010)). Despite this visibility, the existing debate on witchcraft accusation has not properly articulated the dynamic role of the media in the accusation process because the mass media have mainly been portrayed in somewhat restrictive sense as instrumental to the acquisition, reinforcement and dissemination of witchcraft ideas and beliefs in Ghana (see Adinkrah 2015; Asamoah-Gyadu 2015). Adinkrah (2015, 112), for instance, argues that the Ghanaian mass media are suffused with witchcraft ideologies and provide forums for Ghanaians to learn about witchcraft stories and practices of witches. The media focus on witchcraft accusations, he maintains, perpetuates the beliefs and narratives by exposing Ghanaians to witchcraft conceptions. That argument is not merely biased but partial and presents a one-sided view of the role of the media estab- lishment because state and non-state actors in this domain use the media to dispel witchcraft notions and conceptions and get Ghanaians to stop impu- tations of witchcraft and the persecution of alleged witches. This argument restricts critical examination of what may happen in the accusation landscape without these media and their programs. It also limits attempts to find alter- native remedies to the intrusion of individual liberties through sociocultural beliefs and practices. Thus an intriguing question remains: have the media always been a force for valorizing witchcraft beliefs and practices in Ghana? That is, do media insti- tutions only serve as platforms for strengthening witchcraft narratives? It is important to know, if the debate on witchcraft accusation benefits from an open approach that explores the dynamic role of the media in specific and everyday situations. This paper therefore discusses how accused persons, in using available media platforms to enhance their contestation of the witchcraft label shape the role of the media in the accusation process. Ethnographic evidence from three accused persons in three Dagomba communities, Changli, Nyankpala and Choggu, and newspaper items that reported the same topic are used in a complementary fashion to argue for an alternative idea to the dynamic role of the media in witchcraft accusation in Northern Ghana. Secular Studies 1 (2019) 186–203 Downloaded from Brill.com09/28/2021 07:15:26AM via free access 188 igwe 2 Media in Northern Ghana: An Overview Ghana is a country that is known for its free and vibrant media (see Asare 2009). The media institutions have played very important role in the growth and development of Ghana since the colonial times. The colonial authorities established the first newspaper, The Gold Coast Gazette and Commercial Intel- ligencer, in 1822, which served the commercial interests of the colonialists. Some Africans ventured into the media industry and started some newspapers such as The Accra Herald, Gold Coast Times, Gold Coast Echo and Gold Coast Chronicle. In 1948, Kwame Nkrumah established the Accra Evening News which focused mainly on criticizing the colonial government and making a case for ‘Self Government’ (see Asante and Ogawa 2016). In 1950, the London Daily Mirror group, founded a less hostile and more politically neutral newspaper, the DailyGraphic. However, Owusu (2012, 26–29) suggests that free press in Ghana suffered after Ghana gained independence in 1957 because the government of Kwame Nkrumah clamped down on opposi- tion newspapers. It shut down some of the media agencies, censored their pub- lications and imprisoned their editors. Nkrumah was overthrown in 1966, and Ghana experienced decades of coups and counter coups. The media policy of successive military regimes oscillated between tolerance of free press and state control of media institutions. However the democratic dispensation ushered in by Jerry Rawlings repealed the newspaper licensing law which his government introduced in 1989. Following the abrogation of the law, private media agencies such as The Statesman, the Ghanaian Chronicle, and Independent reemerged. The repeal of the criminal libel laws in 2001 by President Kuffour extended the frontiers of free press and Ghana has witnessed the establishment of more pri- vate print and broadcast media stations (see Owusu 2012). Many of these print and broadcast media establishments still exist in North- ern Ghana.They have their offices1 concentrated within theTamale metropolis. Tamale’s political significance goes back to the colonial times. The British colo- nial officers chose it as their northern headquarters following the takeover of the Yendi, the capital of the Dagbon by the Germans (MacGaffey 2006a, 109). These media outlets engage in reporting, entertainment and dissemination of news, knowledge and information. They include the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, the Daily Graphic, The Chronicle, Daily Guide, The Finder, Daily Dispatch, The Ghanaian Times, Zaa Radio, North Star radio, Mighty FM, Justice 1 These are mainly regional offices of media groups that have their headquarters in Accra, the capital. SecularDownloaded Studies from 1 (2019) Brill.com09/28/2021 186–203 07:15:26AM via free access media and witchcraft accusation in northern ghana 189 FM, Kesmi FM, and Fiila FM stations. They employ a handful of staff that report and cover stories of events within the region including cases of witchcraft accu- sation. It is worthy to note that these media institutions compete for listeners (Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung 2011) by trying to provide an extensive coverage of news and events in the region. Despite the limited transportation infrastruc- ture, efforts to capture the views and perspectives of persons and follow up on how news items unfold, reporters travel to the different locations within the region by taxis and sometimes by buses. Thus, in spite of the very challenging social and geographical environment in which these media institutions oper- ate, a commitment to a balanced coverage of events remains paramount. 3 Media Coverage of Accusations: Limitations Given the stigma that is attached to the witchcraft label and suspicion of ‘out- siders’ interested in cases of accusation, getting information is not an easy undertaking. Media coverage of witchcraft accusations in Northern Ghana is fraught with many challenges and difficulties. One major constraint is the beliefs of media personnel regarding witchcraft. Some reporters are witchcraft believers and harbour fears whenever they are covering supposed occult activ- ities. A leader of the Anti-Witchcraft Campaign Coalition (AWACC), a civil soci- ety group that works to support accused persons and raise awareness against witchcraft accusations in the region points out this challenge: The media lately are doing better because we involve them in our edu- cational programs. Some of the media practitioners also entertain the fear of witchcraft but when they are educated and made to understand the law, constitution and science, they appreciate some of the things we are saying at the anti-witchcraft campaign. Then they are able to work because of their job not because of spirituality. Some of them have the fear of witchcraft and that stops them from carrying out proper investiga- tion. So we let
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