According to the police, they are looking into the 12-year-old girl’s purported marriage to 63-year-old Gborbu Wulomo. The girl and her mother have been located in Nungua, Accra, according to the Police, and are currently under their protection.
In a statement, the Police said, “The Ghana Police Service is working with the Department of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection to provide her with the necessary support while the matter is being investigated.”
After knowing of the marriage Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, a former minister of gender, children, and social protection, instructed the government to file lawsuits against the individuals who performed the wedding.
It’s a crime, she added, and the state should have taken action. “I anticipate that the state, the Ghanaian government, ought to have stepped in; it is their official duty.
“I am expecting that with immediate effect the state ought to have intervened to address the issue because what has happened is a crime and is unlawful under our Children Act, under our 1992 Constitution and we have ratified the international convention on the rights of children’s.
So it is clearly unlawful, I expect the state to intervene and to also protect the girl,” the private legal practitioner told TV3 in an interview on News 360 on Monday, April 1.
“I expect the government, the police, the Ministry of Gender to intervene…and ensure that the legal processes are initiated” she stressed.
Whether the parents are contented or not it is immaterial, our law is very clear that the minimum age of marriage of whatever kind shall be 18 years. You can only get married in Ghana if you are 18 years and above.
The public expressed concerns about the marriage, which were addressed by the Nungua Traditional Authority. The Office of the Overlord of Ga Dangme made it clear that there will be no conjugal rites performed, and that the marriage is solely for traditional reasons.
Nungua Mankralo Tetteh Nii Gbotery Kofi Frankwa clarified that the minor’s role in the temple will be limited to aiding the Overlord in carrying out his duties as a virgin.
Speaking in an interview with TV3 on Monday, April 1, he said “This is the second wife she is almost 90 years old, can one say that the Gborbu Wumlormo is having what concerns are being raised with her? Obviously no. But is a customary duty It is a customary duty for Naa Yomo to perform and that customary duty calls for a virgin “
“Her childhood has never been denied, there are many chiefs and queens that were installed chiefs and queens when they were even in their mother’s belly, their rights were never taken away, indeed it enhanced and gave them certain privileges that ordinary children will not even have.”
By the customs of their community, Naa Okromo now assumes the traditional name Naa Ayemoede.
But this union is not complete without further rites. Naa Ayemoede is to undergo a second customary ceremony, one centered on purification.
This rite will empower her to fulfill all the duties expected of her as the wife of the Gborbu Wulomo, including the crucial role of procreation.
Meanwhile, the Gborbu Wulomo temple has been saying that the 12-year-old girl has been designated to attend to one of the 99 deities of the Ga-Adangbe group, which necessitates her being a virgin.
The temple’s spokesperson, Nii Bortey Kofi Frankwa II, stated that the ceremony started six years ago and was made public to guarantee the young girl’s chastity is upheld to shield her from male sexual abuse.
During a press conference, he explained that the young girl’s expected duty within the shrine is customarily assigned to virgins.
He suggests that individuals who are against the practice and advocating for the Wulomo to be prosecuted are ignorant of the Ga-Dangme tradition, which they ought to have investigated before airing their grievances.
“When somebody makes such a call it comes from a point of ignorance. Because first, you need to come closer and ask so that you will appreciate what it is but not take hook line, and sinker what is being said,” he said at the press conference Monday, April 1, 2024.
“Because it goes beyond what is being preached out there. It is deeper than what is being preached. It is deeper for our spirituality,” he added.