An influential 63-year-old priest has sparked outrage in Ghana after marrying a 12-year-old girl who was chosen to be his wife when she was six.
The priest, also known as Gborbu Wulomo, Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII, married the child in a customary ceremony held on Saturday in Nungua, Krowor.
As the priest faces backlash from outsiders, community leaders in the area said people do not understand their customs and traditions. The young girl was therefore asked to prepare for her duties as a wife and to enhance her “sex appeal” with the perfume that had been given to her. .
“In Nungua, the air is thick with tradition as the customary marriage between Gborbu Wulomo, Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII and a young girl named ‘Naa Okromo’ takes place,” said local news channel Ablade TV Online on his Facebook page.
According to the post, the priest’s wife of 12 years is part of his takeover.
Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII married a 12-year-old girl on Saturday in a ceremony that sparked outrage across Ghana and social media.
Several critics have called on authorities to dissolve the marriage and investigate Tsuru, as the legal minimum age for marriage in Ghana is 18.
“According to tradition, the Gborbu Wulomo, having assumed his authority, must also take a ‘Boi ekpaa yoo’, his customary wife,” the message added.
The young girl would still have other rites to perform until the union was complete.
She is about to undergo a second customary ceremony, centered on “purification”.
“This rite will enable her to fulfill all the duties expected of her as the wife of Gborbu Wulomo, including the crucial role of procreation,” the message said.
Footage of the complex event shows dozens of community members gathering to attend the wedding, sparking an outcry from several Ghanaians.
During the ceremony, women speaking the local Ga language asked the girl to dress teasingly for her new husband.
This sparked outrage because it suggested the marriage was not purely ceremonial.
Several critics called for authorities to dissolve the marriage and investigate Tsuru.
Under the Facebook post, a concerned Ghanaian wrote: “Customary wife??? Child marriage is criminalized in Ghana and no rites that violate a girl’s right to realize her full potential should be celebrated.
Another said: “There are so many things wrong with this country, and this is one of them!” How does a 12 year old become a wife in 2024?! Is this a stupid joke???’
Another added: “I hope this is a joke and the Ministry of Gender and the police have started working to establish the facts on this.
“We want and cherish our custom, but not the one that says giving a 12-year-old girl to a 63-year-old man.”
But leaders of the Nungua indigenous community, to which the girl and priest belong, have condemned public opposition to the marriage, saying the criticism “comes from a place of ignorance”.
Nii Bortey Kofi Frankwa II, a local community leader, said on Sunday that the girl’s role as the priest’s wife was “purely a tradition and custom”.
He added that the girl began the rites necessary to become the priest’s wife six years ago, at the age of six, but that the process did not interfere with her education.
Being a Gborbu Wulomo, Tsuru is one of the most senior traditional spiritual leaders in the community.
He performs sacrifices on behalf of the community, prays for the community’s protection, enforces cultural practices, and leads traditional rites during events such as the installation of traditional leaders.
The Ghanaian government has yet to react to this controversial marriage.
The minimum legal age for marriage in Ghana is 18, and although the number of child marriages in the country is declining, they continue to occur in some regions and communities.
According to UNICEF dataGhana currently has more than two million child brides, with one in five girls aged 20 to 24 married before the age of 18.