The Uganda Communications Commission has suspended 23 radio stations for advertising and promoting witchcraft. Describing the stations as lacking “minimum broadcasting standards,” the commission said they had ignored a public notice from 2014 warning broadcasters against promoting witchcraft. It further added that the stations had enabled fraudulent behaviour by hosting alleged healers on the show.
Pamela Ankunda, a spokesperson for the commission, told the East African that the stations will be allowed back on air if they agree to comply with broadcasting standards. According to the news site, Uganda has around 270 radio stations and competition for advertising is fierce. Some Ugandan stations have accepted adverts from herbalists and people who sell charms, prompting the witchcraft allegations.
This a very fine example Ghana should be emulating. How can you blame Mensa Otabil for saying he prefers to watch animals when you put on your television set and all you see is questionable characters “charming money” and promising to have solutions to every problem under the sun? It is surprising Ghanaians condone these types of broadcasts, considering how we believe ourselves to be the most God-fearing people on earth. Why are we so gullible?
Any guy with a dirty beard and smelly smock can parade himself as a “spiritualist” or “mallam” or whatever they call themselves and hoodwink Ghanaians into giving them all their money. And the same people patronizing the Obinims and Kumchachas are the same one patronizing these charlatans. If someone asks you to bring a goat, tubers of yam, pepper, tomatoes, etc for them to solve a problem for you and you can’t tell your destiny is being used to pound fufu and aponkye nkrakra then you deserve whatever you get.
The worrying part of all these is how TV and radio stations open their doors wide for these fraudsters to come and deceive the public. For some people, once they see you on TV, whatever you’re saying is the gospel. Our media houses need to hold themselves to a higher standard and not let the little money they get from these thieves blind them. Or the NCA should get involved and close down any station condoning all this foolishness.