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Residents of Tema Newtown in the Greater Accra Region are currently living in morbid fear following what they described as mysterious deaths in the area.

Two people died yesterday, bringing the total number of deaths to 17 in the last three days.

DAILY GUIDE learnt that two people died yesterday after taking the prescribed spiritual bath in the sea, creating fear and panic among the residents.

The spiritual bath was sanctioned by the chief priest of the area to revoke curses alleged invoked on the residents.

The team from Ghana Health Service, which was dispatched to Tema Manhean, debunked reports that the people died of spiritual ailment.

The fear-stricken residents, who have attributed the deaths to occultism, commonly known as ‘Sakawa’, have appealed to churches, the Christian Council, Chief Imam and other religious bodies in the country to come to their aid.

They also called for full investigations of the deaths by government to unravel the mystery.

Eric Kojo Twumasi, alias Worgor, Assembly Member for Harbour Electoral Area, could not fathom what actually killed all the people told DAILY GUIDE that

“Yesterday, about 12 people died only to be told today (Wednesday) that three more people have been found dead in their rooms. You will not find the person for some days and after searching for some time you would only discover the person dead in a room. So this morning, three people have been found dead at Manhean, bringing the number of deaths to 15 in the Harbour Electoral Area.”

Asked whether he was scared of the strange deaths, he responded in the affirmative, stressing that “I have gone to the seashore to take my bath.”

Explaining further, the Assembly member indicated that “because most of the people go to work early therefore they bath before going, while some children also fetch the seawater for their parents to bath.

“I don’t know whether it’s occultism at play.

The Assembly member disclosed that several people have taken the spiritual bath in the sea, advising every resident to adhere to the directive of the chief priest to save their lives.

He appealed to authorities to take the necessary steps to find a lasting solution to the problem.

According to him, they would not sit aloof for the detrimental trend to continue, adding that “nobody knows who the next victim will be; I have therefore contacted the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) and the Metropolitan Health Directorate over the incident.

“The churches in the area are disrespecting the directive of the chief priest for them to fetch sand on the premises into the sea,” he said, adding that “there are similarities in the deaths recorded but they died before the chief priest gave the directive.”

Spiritual Baths

Meanwhile, several residents thronged the beach in Tema to take their bath on the instructions of the chief priest of the area.

According to the chief priest, “the land and the residents have been cursed by a resident so they need to bath in the sea to avoid the wrath of the gods in the town.”

The chief priest said each resident, who will take his or her bath in the sea, must pay GH₵1 to purchase some items to revoke the supposed curse to avert the deaths of most people immediately.

According to the spokesperson for the chief priest, the residents must take precautions and bath in the sea, explaining that the spiritual cleansing of the bodies of the residents would prevent further deaths.

As at the time of filing this report, the elders of the Tema Traditional Council were in a crisis meeting to find solutions to the problem.

However, the Stool Secretary of the Tema Traditional Council, Nii Armah Suponu, has implored the residents to disregard the instructions of the chief priest.

“The Traditional Council wishes to inform the general public that we totally dissociate ourselves from the so-called instruction that is going around asking people to go to the beach and bath in the sea,” the Stool Secretary added.

He stated that although the stool expressed concern about the mysterious deaths, there was no need for people to take advantage of the situation to enrich themselves.

According to him, “The council has never asked anybody to pay a dime to anyone.”