The acting chief of Amamole, and Head of Nii Tettey Okpe family, Nii Ashitey Tetteh, last Saturday performed rituals to banish ghosts from the Ablekuma, Olebu, Amamo­le-Awoshie Highway.

The banishment of ghosts is a cus­tomary ritual and magical ceremony to stop the rampant road accidents that claimed several lives on the road.

Nii Ashitey Tetteh told The Spectator that the existence of ghosts on the aforementioned stretch of the highway was one of the reasons for the high number of accidents that occurs.

“These are spirits that have lingered on the road for years and have not been removed. What they do is that they cause more accidents to spill more blood.”

Several animals and birds, including two bulls, were sacrificed at desig­nated points of the highway, before moving to the cemetery to perform ceremonial rituals that removes nonphysical influences, such as spirits sagging the place.

In addition, libation was poured in the attempt to get rid of spirits from the area.

That particular cemetery is believed to house the ancestors of the Ga state who first settled at Amamole.

The rituals were performed in col­laboration with Ayawaso traditional authority, under the Asere paramount­cy represented by Nii Tetteh-Bibio Quaye.

According to Nii Ashitey Tetteh, the purpose of the ceremony was to direct the ghosts to their ancestral home to make the road very safe for the living.

Apart from the ghost factor, Nii Ash­itey also faulted over-speeding drivers whose recklessness also often results in such fatal road accidents.

“They are so reckless sometimes. They don’t observe road traffic regu­lations.”

The acting chief also appealed to the government to construct overhead bridges at vantage points for pedes­trians who crossed the highway with careless abandon.

The police was on hand to direct traffic and also to provide security for the traditionalists whose activities drew attention from passers-by.

 By Francis Xah