A fetish priest who reportedly provided spiritual protection for illegal miners fled during a joint anti-galamsey operation along the Ankobra River in the Western Region, officials say.
The shrine — dedicated to Maame Wata and said to belong to one Togbe Nana Benin — was uncovered on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, during a riverine operation carried out with the Western Naval Command. Eye-witnesses and security personnel said the priest abandoned the site when he spotted the taskforce and made no apparent attempt to invoke spiritual protection.
Accra-based TV3 reported that the team inspected several makeshift camps along the riverbank. In a room believed to be used for purification rituals, officers found a list of prescribed ritual items that reportedly included one sheep, one goat, six fowls, one guinea fowl, cowries valued at GH₵3,000 and an additional cash payment of GH₵300. Two sheep and a fowl were found tethered nearby, apparently awaiting sacrifice.
A naval officer who led the operation described the shrine as a focal point for ritual activity linked to the mining sites. “This room is designated for the mallam or juju man. You’ve escaped, yet you’re supposed to wait and meet with us…You’re running away? Next time, we expect to see you with the juju,” he said.
Brigadier General Musah Whajah (rtd), Western Regional National Security Liaison Officer, reiterated the taskforce’s resolve to stamp out illegal mining. He said no form of intimidation — including spiritual rituals — would deter enforcement efforts and vowed continued operations until visible improvements to the Ankobra River were achieved.
The raid has reignited debate over the role of spiritual practices in illegal mining communities — whether as deterrents or as elements that strengthen resolve on both sides. The taskforce leader was blunt about the mission’s priorities: those rituals are used to seek more gold, he said, but the operation’s focus remains protecting water bodies and enforcing the law. “We’ve encountered various rituals — white sheep, white fowls, and other things — but we won’t back down. We’ll take them down and move forward,” he said.
