Enact laws against invocation of curses —Ankaful-Saltpond Chief

The Chief of Ankaful-Saltpond, Nana Kwame Ntsiful V, has called for the enactment of laws against the invocation of curses in the country.

He said he was worried that the invocation of curses was gradually gaining ground in Ghana, saying it required all well-meaning Ghanaians to condemn the practice and also make it unlawful to invoke curses.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Nana Ntsiful noted that the phenomenon of people cursing others at the least provocation was a worrying trend which must not be allowed to flourish.

"Many young men and women in the country are so quick to resort to curses to punish or destroy their perceived enemies; a practice that is fast gaining roots in the country, but which must not be allowed to thrive.

“That practice is backward and should not be encouraged in any modern society,” he said.

Stakeholders must act

Nana Ntsiful, who is also the Development Chief of Kwaprow, one of the communities near the University of Cape Coast, urged traditional authorities to take the matter up by activating appropriate customary laws to curb the practice.

"People just take sheep, fowls or goats, add bottles of Schnapps and proceed to a riverside to invoke curses. That practice is very weird and should not find place in our tradition.

“Chiefs, who are custodians of our tradition, should drum into the heads of their subjects that such a practice is prohibited, as it is believed to bring mayhem, and should not find a place in modern societies,” he said.

He further pleaded with political party leaders and leaders of the various religious groups to call their members who are fond of engaging in that practice to order.

He emphasised that the practice was satanic and implored traditional authorities to rise to the occasion to deal with it.

Community’s development

Touching on development, Nana Ntsiful said his community had been at the receiving end of the impact of perennial flooding and appealed to the government to help get the community a proper drainage system to deal with the challenge.

He also urged the government to help construct the road between Ankaful-Saltpond and Kuntu to ease the burden on commuters on the stretch.

He further appealed to the government to get Ankaful-Saltpond a mini harbour to replace the oil field facility which was not in use currently, intimating that a harbour would help open up the community.