Ama Hemmah

Ama Hemmah (1947-2010) was a Ghanaian woman burned alive for allegedly confessing to be a witch in Tema, Ghana. The suspects claimed the olive oil that was used in an attempt to drive out the evil spirit was what caught fire.

Murder

On 20 November 2010 at Tema Site 15, Hemmah was tortured by five people who had suspected her of being a witch until she confessed to them. Before her torture, Mary Sagoe caught Hemmah sitting in the bedroom of his sister Emelia after she had sent her children to school. An alarm was raised which caught the attention of the perpetrators, Samuel Ghunney, a 50-year-old photographer, Pastor Samuel Fletcher Sagoe, 55, and Emelia Opoku, 37, Nancy Nana Ama Akrofie, 46, and Mary Sagoe, 52, all unemployed. They drenched her in kerosene and later set her on fire.

A student nurse came to her rescue and sent her to the Community One Police Station. Hemmah was transferred to Tema General Hospital, where she died the following day.

Police investigation

The suspects, a pastor and a photographer, denied the allegation in their statement to the police. Six persons were arrested in connection to the incident, two of whom were charged with murder and the other four released on bail while they awaited trial.