Seven communities within the Dzita-Anyanui Traditional Area in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region yesterday staged a massive demonstration against what they described as protracted ritual killings that have been going-on in their communities.
The over one-thousand aggrieved citizens, led by their chiefs including the Divisional Chief of Anyanui Traditional Area, Torgbui Gamor II, wore red bands, sang war songs and took to the streets to demonstrate against the heinous crime being perpetuated in their communities.
The communities that staged the demonstration included Agbledomi, Tunu, Bomigo, Atiteti, Fuveme, Dzita and Anyanui.
The demonstrators could not understand why since 2016, six people had reportedly been murdered mysteriously in the communities.
Some of the victims who were found had their private organs, heads, tongues and arms removed.
They lamented that some people have also been reported missing, making reference to a 49-year-old carpenter, Mr. Gershon Agbodo, who has been reported missing since March 20, 2017.
According to residents of the seven communities, the ritual killings reportedly started in 2013 with 10 confirmed deaths recorded so far.
However, the situation in which the victims were found made it difficult for easy identification.
They asserted that the rampant killings in recent times have led to a situation where the residents were living in fear for which reason they staged the demonstration to draw the attention of the security authorities and the government to their plight.
The Divisional Chief of the Anyanui Traditional Area, Torgbui Gamor II, led a delegation to present a petition to the Keta Police District Command, appealing to the authorities to investigate the matter.
The Keta District Commander, Superintendent Jordan Quaye, who received the petition, assured the chief and his delegation that the matter would receive the necessary attention.
The complaints of the people were that although the killings were on the increase nobody had been arrested and no investigation had been conducted by the police.
In an interview with Today, Torgbui Gamor II disclosed that the bodies were normally dumped in the mangrove forests on the outskirt of the area or buried at the beach.
According to him, some of the victims included children between the ages of 7 and 13 whose parents had left them at home to pursue their livelihood outside the home, only to return to find them missing.
Torgbui Gamor said on March 15, 2013 a 13-year-old boy, Wonder Awuni, who was left at home by his parents, went missing and his body was later found without the head at the bank of Detorme lagoon.
A mad man was also reportedly killed about a week ago and dumped in the lagoon.
According to Torgbui Gamor, they could not tell if the perpetrators were in the communities or from outside.
He said the people believed that the persons behind the killings were using the bodies for ritual purposes in order to have bumper harvest in their fishing activities.
Clearly, the unresolved murder cases are not only a sign of insecurity but negatively affecting “our socio-economic and psychological wellbeing,” he expressed.
Apprehending the perpetrators, he said, would give confidence to the people to make them feel secure.
Meanwhile, the youth in the area have threatened to deal with anybody they suspect to be part of the killings to protect their people if the police do not respond appropriately.
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