A wave of national uproar has erupted following the marriage of a 13-year-old girl by a traditional Ghanaian priest, leading to widespread demands for his arrest.
The 63-year-old priest, known as Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII or Gborbu Wulomo, conducted the ceremony near Accra, Ghana’s capital, sparking immediate concern.
Promptly after the event, the girl and her mother were placed under police protection, while Ghana’s attorney general launched an investigation into the matter.
In a statement, the attorney general’s office emphasized that if proven true, the allegations would constitute a criminal offense, calling for prosecution of all involved parties.
According to Ghanaian law, the legal minimum age for marriage stands at 18, a threshold the girl clearly falls short of.
While police and officials assert the girl’s age as 13, traditional authorities contest this, claiming she is 16.
In defense, the priest’s spokesperson clarified that the marriage wasn’t intended for sexual relations. The spokesperson, Mankralo Shwonotalor, explained that the girl wouldn’t be expected to fulfill marital duties until reaching the legal age of consent, which is 16 in Ghana.
Shwonotalor emphasized that the ceremony wasn’t a conventional marriage, but rather a customary role aimed at aiding the priest in his spiritual obligations. He asserted that the girl’s rights hadn’t been infringed, pointing out that she was still attending school.
However, public outcry continued to mount over the traditional ceremony. Gender activist and former minister Nana Oye Bampoe Addo labeled the marriage as illegal, urging immediate action from the state. She emphasized that such cultural practices contradicted Ghana’s laws and constitution, branding the event as criminal and unlawful.
