News
Kobidi AME Zion School teachers, pupils back to school …after rituals to revoke curses
Teaching and learning resumed on Monday at Kobidi AME Zion primary and Junior High School as teachers and learners returned to school after a week break occasioned by a delusion over the death of two headmasters and a teacher.
This was after rituals had been performed by the chief priest of the area – Kobidi, to stop the strange deaths recorded in the school.
The town, located in the Sunyani West Municipality of the Bono Region, was in the news last week following the death of two headmasters and a teacher of the school.
When The Spectator visited the school premises last week, it was totally deserted with parents complaining as the children roam in town.
The death of the two were initially attributed to curses invoked on the school authorities by a disgruntled learner who was unhappy about some treatment.
But from a follow-up by The Spectator on the latest development, it emerged that the curse was actually invoked by an occasional visitor to the school who many considered as mentally unbalanced.
After consultation with the traditional authorities, rituals were performed for learners and teachers to return to school.
According to the Queen mother of the town, Nana Ansu Ameyaa Gyeabour who addressed a press conference, the performance of the rituals followed consultations with the chief priest of the area.
“The nature of the issue required that we consult the chief priest of the town. It was after that consultation that he requested three rams, fowls, bottle of schnapps and some cash amount to prepare the rituals,” she said.
She explained that traditionally, that cost should have being on the family of the man that invoked the curses but due to the financial constraints, members of the community were made to contribute to pay.
“Under normal circumstances, the family of the man that invoked the curse was supposed to bear the cost of the fine but were financially constraint. As a result, households were levied Gh₵100 each to raise the money.”
Narrating the full story, the Assembly Member of the area, known as Mr Boateng said the mentally deranged man occasionally visited the school to demand a portion of food served the children under the national school feeding programme.
And most of the time, Mr Boateng said, he was denied.
Mr Boateng, said one of the days when his request was refused, he got angry and rained curses on the school authorities, specifically calling the death of any staff that embezzled any fund belonging to the school.
Subsequently, two successive head teachers and a teacher have died but what cannot be confirmed was whether it was associated with the curses and whether the three victims embezzled school funds.
Strangely, the perceived mental patient would return a day or two after the deaths to remind the staff of his curses.
That obviously caused fear and panic among the staff, culminating in the closure of the school from May 18 until last Friday’s rituals to pacify the gods and revoke the curses.
The perceived mentally challenged man has currently been excommunicated from the township for safety reasons and is reported to be in Chiraa, a nearby town.
From Daniel Dzirasah, Kobidi
News
Oxfam in Ghana donates medical equipment and essential drugs worth GH¢1.5 million to Kasoa Polyclinic
Oxfam in Ghana has donated medical equipment and essential drugs worth about GH¢1.5 million to the Kasoa Polyclinic to strengthen maternal and reproductive healthcare services in the municipality.
The presentation, which took place on Tuesday, June 24, 2026, at the premises of the clinic in Kasoa, formed part of the sustainability and legacy activities under the Power to Choose (P2C) Project.
The donated items included delivery beds, maternity beds, oxygen cylinders, neonatal resuscitation equipment, blood pressure monitors, newborn weighing scales, suction machines, delivery kits, essential medicines, medical theatre wear and other critical supplies to support quality healthcare delivery.
The Power to Choose Project is a seven-year initiative being implemented by Oxfam in Ghana in partnership with the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG), WiLDAF Ghana, SEND Ghana, Norsaac and PARDA, with funding from Global Affairs Canada through Oxfam Quebec.
The project seeks to improve sexual and reproductive health and rights for young people, particularly adolescent girls, young women and young men living in vulnerable and marginalised conditions.
Addressing nurses and management of the hospital, the Country Director for Oxfam in Ghana, Mohammed-Anwar Sadat Adam, said the project, which began in 2021 and will run until early 2028, is being implemented in seven countries across Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
He said Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the two African countries benefiting from the project.
Mr. Adam noted that the project has already trained about 102 health workers in areas including youth-friendly services, emergency obstetric and neonatal care, family planning, gender-based violence response, respectful maternity care and inclusive healthcare delivery.
He said Oxfam and its partners conducted assessments at beneficiary facilities and identified equipment needs to help improve healthcare delivery.
According to him, the donation would create safe spaces where young women and girls could seek healthcare services without fear or stigma and would improve health outcomes in the community.
Mr. Adam thanked the Government of Canada, the Ghana Health Service, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Ghana (SOGOG), World Health Ghana and other partners for supporting the implementation of the project.
He urged the beneficiary facilities to ensure that the equipment is properly used and maintained to serve the community for many years.
A speech by the Municipal Health Director for Awutu Senya East, Dr. Stanley Kweku Yaidoo, which was read on his behalf by the Municipal Accountant, Rev. Dr. Askari Thomas, described the donation as timely and important.
He said quality healthcare delivery depends on manpower, financial resources and equipment, adding that healthcare workers cannot effectively deliver services without the necessary tools.
Dr. Yaidoo thanked Oxfam and its partners for selecting Kasoa as one of the beneficiary facilities and assured them that the equipment would be put to good use.
The Acting Medical Superintendent of Kasoa Polyclinic, Dr. Papa Kojo Arthur, expressed appreciation to Oxfam for its continuous support over the years through training and capacity building.
He said the equipment would greatly support the effective management of patients, particularly in maternal and child healthcare.
According to him, the donation would help reduce maternal and perinatal mortality in the municipality.
The donation formed part of efforts to strengthen the capacity of youth-friendly health facilities in eight implementing districts across five regions of Ghana to continue providing quality and accessible sexual and reproductive healthcare services beyond the lifespan of the project.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts (MoTCCA) has announced that an electronic copy of Ghana’s revised National Cultural Policy is now available online for free access by the public and stakeholders in the creative sector.
In a statement issued on June 22, the ministry said the revised policy was officially launched on June 9, 2026, at the National Theatre of Ghana in Accra.
According to the ministry, the decision to upload the document on its official website is aimed at ensuring widespread dissemination, increasing public awareness and promoting the effective implementation of the policy.
The ministry encouraged sector practitioners, stakeholders and members of the public to visit its website and read the document.
“The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, in the spirit of the Black Star Experience, remains committed to a transparent, inclusive and collaborative approach to building the better Ghana we want,” the statement said.
It added that it looks forward to the active participation of stakeholders in implementing the policy for the benefit of the country.
The ministry urged the public to take advantage of the free access to the policy document and familiarise themselves with its contents.
By: Jacob Aggrey
