Tragedy as Gunpowder Explodes, Burns Teenager's Hands in Bizarre Ritual to Recover Lost Laptop

The palms of a 16-year-old boy identified as Yaw Prince, got burnt after a failed ‘spiritual exercise’ by a fetish priest to identify a laptop thief. The incident happened at Akyem Sekyere in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

 

According to a report by Punch, the teenage victim was accused of stealing a laptop and was sent to a 22-year-old fetish priest known as Kwasi Afari, to use spiritual means to establish if it was Yaw who stole it.

 

It was gathered that at the shrine, the fetish priest was said to have forcefully opened Yaw’s hands and poured some gunpowder into it.

 

The priest then lit the gunpowder while still in Yaw’s open palms.

 

Eye witnesses said the substances exploded immediately it was ignited, causing Yaw’s palm to burn badly.

 

Afari the priest has since been arrested on Tuesday by the Police, but was granted bail to enable him assist in investigations.

 

Yaw is currently receiving treatment at the Enyiresi Government Hospital, Kofi Baffour Nketia.

 

A community leader, Baffour Nketia, said Yaw was not taken to hospital for immediate treatment but was kept at home, causing his severely sore right palm to become infected.

 

Nketia said he intervened when he heard that the teenager had been sick and was kept at home.

 

He said he went to the house, where family members told him how Yaw came bout the horrendous wounds in his palms.

 

Nketia said Yaw’s mother claimed she did not have money and that, that was why she did not take her son to hospital.