Ama Hemmah, 72, has allegedly been tortured and burned to death in Ghana for being a "witch"。
Five people have been arrested in connection with her death. The suspects deny the crime and claim that they were praying to exorcise the evil spirit from the dying woman, when the anointing oil they had applied to her body caught fire。
According to the police commander, the suspects claimed that Hemmah was a known witch in the area and subjected her to severe torture, compelling her to confess to being a witch。
The policeman leading the case, Augustine Gyening said after extracting the confession, Ghunney, one of those five suspects, asked for a gallon of kerosene and with the help of his accomplices, poured it all over Hemmah and set her ablaze. Then she was rushed to a hospital nearby thanks to a student-nurse but died within 24 hours。
Newspaper pictures showing the woman's injuries have caused revulsion in Ghana, and the incident has been condemned by human rights and women's activists。