Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Minister, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, has assured that his outfit, along with other key stakeholders, is working to find out if indeed the Ga priest, Nuumo Borketey Laweh XXXIII married a minor.
According to him, this is to determine whether there was an intention to abuse the rights of the minor.
Over the weekend, the 63-year-old Ga priest also known as Gborbu Wulomo allegedly carried out the traditional marriage ceremony involving a 12-year-old girl.
Following widespread criticism from the public and concerns from some legislators regarding the violation of the child’s human rights, the Gborbu Wulomo has denied these claims.
According to them, 12-year-old has been designated to attend to one of the 99 deities of the Ga-Adangbe group, which necessitates her being a virgin.
This requirement led to the decision to publicly conduct the marriage ceremony to ensure her purity was maintained and to safeguard her from sexual violation by men.
Mr Boateng said this new angle gives a different perspective to the ceremony, and until they know the exact nature of the ceremony, not much can be done about it.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Midday News on April 2, the Chieftaincy Minister said he was adopting collaborative efforts to ascertain the facts surrounding the event.
“We want to establish that there has not been contact so that if they are saying the betrothal then we will understand but if there has been contact with the gentleman then it goes beyond that. That is marriage, which the law frowns on. If the tradition contradicts the statutory, we are dealing with the statutory, a modern public. Anyone who goes contrary to the law will be brought to book,” he said.
Touching on the calls for the arrest of the traditional priest, he said his outfit, along with other key stakeholders, are working around the clock to ensure they get to the root of the purported marriage.
Meanwhile, he said there are plans to meet with the Ga priest, but he is informed that traditionally, he cannot cross the Lagoon and was therefore considering other alternatives.
Meanwhile, the police has already disclosed that both the mother and the child had been located and placed under protection.
The press release emphasised that swift action has been taken to ensure the safety and security of the young girl and her mother.
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