After confessing as witchcrafts at New Kru Town tragic crusade
Video footage from a crusade that ended tragically in New Kru Town paraded dozens of children under 15 years of age who reportedly confessed to being witchcraft. Children are seen in the video nodding their heads to questions posed to them by a man believed to be Prophet Abraham Kromah.
Prophet Abraham Kromah is the man of God who organized the Crusade in New Kru Town that resulted in the tragic deaths of 29 people following a stampede that erupted at the end of Crusade. He is believed to be a powerful man of God who delivers and heals people from demonic possession and as well as a great fortuneteller.
Children who were taken on stage to confess blamed their grandmothers for initiating them in different ways into witchcraft activities. Some of the children were quoted to have killed and eaten human beings.
However, an independent investigation conducted by Womenvoices has established that some of the children that confessed did so due to peer pressure. Womenvoices independent investigator said several of the children who confessed on the day of the Crusade were now faced with the stigma of being witchcraft. Our investigation also established the likelihood of some of them (the children) to be bullied out of school if nothing is done to restore their dignity and reintegrate them into society.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has said it will invite Prophet Abraham Kromah for questioning in relation to violation of children’s rights. Speaking to Womenvoices on Sunday January 23, 2022, Assistant Minister for Gender and Social Protection, Manmina Carr said Mr. Kromah would be held for violating Article 3 Section 18.1 of the Children Protection Law. She said it is prohibited to place a child in public light wrongly. She said they were going to make the case to the Police since Mr. Kromah was already going through an investigation.
“Article 3 Section 18.1 says a child gets rights to privacy and that privacy extends to the protection of publicity that places the child in public light wrongly. Presenting children in the public as witchcraft is a violation of their rights”, Assistant Minister Carr told Womenvoices.
Confirmed report from medical sources hinted that approximately 30 persons died and 18 others on critical list as a result of stampede at a crusade in the Borough of New Kru Town late Wednesday night on January 19, 2022.
News of an attack by a gang of common criminals, according to eyewitness’ accounts, who demanded valuables from people on their way out from the stadium where the event was held, led to the stampede.
A pregnant woman and eighteen (18) children are among the 29 reported dead, according to sources at the Ministry of information. A total of 22 females including five girls, and seven (7) males including five (5) boys are said to have met their untimely demise on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, President George Manneh Weah declared three days of National Mourning, which ended on January 23, 2022. According to the Execution Mansion, the President further mandated the Liberian National Police (LNP) to conduct a full-scale investigation to ascertain as to whether there is any criminal culpability.
Recently, organizers of the crusade were announcing on local radios that they invited Prophet Abraham Kromah to New Kru Town to host crusade in community in order to cast out demons and decree against witchcraft, which they said were responsible for their suffering and hardships.
However, Liberians both home and abroad have been reacting differently to the situation.
“How could a tragedy of such magnitude happen? 30 people died just like that? I am totally confused, as this is not adding up whatsoever! My deepest sympathy and prayers to the families of the victims. This is a National tragedy! We need answers,” Madam Leelai Kpukuyou Brown said on her Facebook page.
Like Leelai, many other people are expressing concerns as they call on the government to launch a speedy and impartial investigation into the matter. Some believe that organizers of the crusade did not take into consideration event security.
One Favor Gray in a comment on Social Media said, “That’s exactly my point here, looking at the time of the crusade, the venue and most especially the crowd when ever he host such gatherings, those should have been his concern… in fact people are saying zogos entered, is it the same “they say and I say ”that got people running???
Or was it factual that indeed there were zogos, or are they trying to use those zogos as skip goats?? There are a lot more questions than answers to this issue”.
Drugs addicts and disadvantaged youths are locally called Zogos in Liberia.
Mr. Fredrick Bobby krah also commented that “Someone must be responsible for those that lost their lives, and all hands should be pointed to the person who called the crusade. This is not fair and shouldn’t be left like that. Someone must be accountable; inasmuch the government is responsible for state security we should ensure that the necessary measures are in place to protect people in huge gatherings that we called”.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection said it is saddened by the tragic deaths of 30 people including 11 children at the D.Twe Football Field located in New Kru Towm.
The Ministry said its thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families and friends as well as those nursing injuries.
Upon receiving this sad news, the Ministry said it immediately dispatched a team of social workers led by the Assistant Minister of Children and Social Protection at the site to aid those in distress. Currently, the team is documenting survivors – especially the children without visible parental attachments, the Ministry said.
“Additionally, Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister Williametta E. Saydee-Tarr has mandated the Ministry’s psychosocial counselors to immediately begin the process of conducting psychosocial counseling to assist the bereaved families in handling the traumatic stress associated with such difficult moments,” a statement from the Ministry website said.
Gender says it welcomes the call of President George Manneh Weah to the Liberia National Police to conduct a full-scale investigation.
Gender is hopeful that at the end of the investigation – stringent measures aimed at protecting public gatherings especially women and children who are usually the most affected will be enforced.
It is not clear whether Gender Ministry’s psychosocial counselors were having anything do with those children who are reportedly facing stigma in the community.
