ACCRA: A conventional animist priest in Ghana has sparked a nationwide outcry after marrying a younger lady, prompting requires his arrest.
The 63-year-old priest Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII, also referred to as Gborbu Wulomo, married the lady in a ceremony on Saturday close to the capital Accra.
Her age is in dispute between 12 to 16, however she and her mom have been positioned beneath police safety quickly after the marriage and Ghana’s lawyer basic opened an investigation.
“The allegations, if confirmed, represent a prison offence for which all individuals concerned should face prosecution,” a press release from the lawyer basic’s workplace stated.
Beneath Ghanaian regulation, the authorized minimal age for marriage is eighteen.
Police and officers initially stated the lady was 12 or 13, however the conventional authorities concerned say she is 16.
“We appear to be unravelling some few issues. As an illustration, the age of 12, which we have been made to imagine is wrong. The child is sort of 16… nonetheless a minor,” Chieftaincy and Non secular Affairs Minister Stephen Asamoah Boateng informed a neighborhood radio station.
Defending his actions, the priest’s spokesperson insisted the wedding was not about sexual relations.
With out giving her age, he stated the lady wouldn’t be anticipated to fulfil marital duties till she reaches the authorized age of consent, which is 16 in Ghana.
“It is not a wedding ceremony. There’s nothing sexual hooked up to it. The priest has three customary wives already. It is a customary position to assist the priest together with his religious duties,” spokesperson Mankralo Shwonotalor informed AFP by phone.
He stated her rights had not been infringed and the lady was nonetheless attending faculty.
However public condemnation intensified over the standard ceremony.
Gender activist and former minister Nana Oye Bampoe Addo stated the wedding was unlawful.
“The state should act instantly,” she informed AFP, saying the cultural apply was incompatible with Ghana’s regulation and structure.
“What has simply occurred is against the law and illegal.”
The 63-year-old priest Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII, also referred to as Gborbu Wulomo, married the lady in a ceremony on Saturday close to the capital Accra.
Her age is in dispute between 12 to 16, however she and her mom have been positioned beneath police safety quickly after the marriage and Ghana’s lawyer basic opened an investigation.
“The allegations, if confirmed, represent a prison offence for which all individuals concerned should face prosecution,” a press release from the lawyer basic’s workplace stated.
Beneath Ghanaian regulation, the authorized minimal age for marriage is eighteen.
Police and officers initially stated the lady was 12 or 13, however the conventional authorities concerned say she is 16.
“We appear to be unravelling some few issues. As an illustration, the age of 12, which we have been made to imagine is wrong. The child is sort of 16… nonetheless a minor,” Chieftaincy and Non secular Affairs Minister Stephen Asamoah Boateng informed a neighborhood radio station.
Defending his actions, the priest’s spokesperson insisted the wedding was not about sexual relations.
With out giving her age, he stated the lady wouldn’t be anticipated to fulfil marital duties till she reaches the authorized age of consent, which is 16 in Ghana.
“It is not a wedding ceremony. There’s nothing sexual hooked up to it. The priest has three customary wives already. It is a customary position to assist the priest together with his religious duties,” spokesperson Mankralo Shwonotalor informed AFP by phone.
He stated her rights had not been infringed and the lady was nonetheless attending faculty.
However public condemnation intensified over the standard ceremony.
Gender activist and former minister Nana Oye Bampoe Addo stated the wedding was unlawful.
“The state should act instantly,” she informed AFP, saying the cultural apply was incompatible with Ghana’s regulation and structure.
“What has simply occurred is against the law and illegal.”
