The case against five pastors and four others from the Adaboya community, who had accused 61-year-old Ayidaana Abotisei of being a witch, has been withdrawn from the Bongo District Court.
On 15 August, when the case was recalled, the police prosecutor handling the matter requested that the case be withdrawn.
The prosecutor informed the court that the complainant, Joseph Azubire Aduko, the son of the victim, had requested the withdrawal due to familial ties with some of the accused. The court granted the prosecutor’s request.
While Aduko remains tight-lipped about the situation, information gathered by Asaase News suggests that pressure from traditional, religious, and political leaders in the district may have influenced his decision.
Community members who spoke to Asaase News and requested anonymity explained that the removal of the case from court promotes peace and unity in the area.
All nine individuals who were initially arrested in connection with the case have been released.
It remains unclear what the future holds for 61-year-old Ayidaana Abotisei, her son Joseph Aduko, and other members of the family.
It would be recalled that Joseph Aduko, a physician assistant at the Builsa South District Hospital, when he spoke to Asaase News days ago, recounted that on 25 July 2024, he received information that his mother had been accused of witchcraft by an unidentified young woman who had been seeking prayers from a group of young pastors.
Initially, Aduko thought the situation would pass without further incident, but to his shock, his mother was taken to an unnamed community in Burkina Faso, where she was forced to confess to being a witch.
Aduko explained that his mother was eventually brought to the Adaboya chief’s palace. He also described the difficulties he and the Ghana Police Service faced while trying to rescue his mother from the chief’s palace.
Reporting by Mark Smith in the Upper East Region
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