'Witch' stranded

The alleged witch holding her head Residents of Santa Maria-Kokompe, a suburb of Accra, were early yesterday morning jolted by the chilling story of a suspected witch who mysteriously appeared in the bedroom of a pastor's wife in her bid to take the life of their 12-month-old daughter for ritual purposes.

The partially naked woman, yet to be identified,  who allegedly had a palm-frond tucked in her blood-soaked mouth, and believed to be in her early 30s, was said to have suddenly appeared in the self-contained apartment of the pastor out of the blue.

Residents forwent their sleep and trooped to the scene to catch a glimpse of the 'dracula' woman whom, they suspected, had diabolic intentions.  

According to eyewitnesses, the woman lifted the baby and started chanting some strange words, ostensibly to enable her vanish with it, but her intentions were neutralized with shouts of the names of 'Jehovah' and 'Jesus'.

Narrating the incident to DAILY GUIDE, Cecilia Nyame, the pastor's wife, stated that she woke up around 3:30am as usual to get ready for the market, but then decided to go dump some refuse a few meters away from her house, leaving her 12-month-old baby in the care of her first daughter, who was still in bed when the incident happened.

“Barely 200 meters away from the house, I heard my daughter screaming and calling the name of Jesus, so I threw the rubbish away and hurried back only to see this mysterious woman with blood soiled on her lips and palm branch in her mouth having in her custody my child”.

According to the 36-year-old pastor's wife, the scene she saw prompted her to raise an alarm, adding that when some neighbours arrived, the intruder seemed to have fallen into a stupor and could not utter a word when she was questioned.

Not even the deafening prayers from the crowd could compel her to talk.

Madam Nyame said about 45 minutes after she was tied with ropes and anchored to a tree, the supposed witch started confessing. She allegedly screamed: “I have failed Rose, I have failed; please do not cancel my name from the list. I must kill this child before I leave; she has disgraced me!”

Nana Ama Adobea Nyame, the eight-year-old girl who was in the room with the toddler, in an interview with DAILY GUIDE, confirmed her mother's story.

“I was still lying in my bed, playing with the child when suddenly, I saw a woman with a palm branch in her mouth standing right by my bed. Meanwhile, all the three doors were locked.

Before I could utter a word, the woman lifted my sister from the bed. I then shouted 'Jesus', 'Jesus' and called for help,” she said.

Meanwhile, Rev. Nyame of the Pentecostal Believing Church, whose room the suspected witch landed in, was said to have travelled out of town when the incident occurred.

When DAILY GUIDE took a close look at the woman, stains of blood were visible on her mouth, but this paper could not tell if she was a victim of instant justice.

The beautiful-looking suspected witch had her hair nicely-plated and was wearing eyelashes and nails but with red eyes.

Many residents were of the opinion that she could be a 'sakawa' woman who wanted to steal the child for ritual purposes.

By Linda Tenyah