Over the past few weeks, there have been reports of some individuals accusing others of causing them to lose or experiencing shrinkage in their genitals following physical contact, especially in heavily crowded public spaces around Kasoa, in the Central Region of Ghana.

A similar trend reared its ugly head in the I990s, which unfortunately led to the barbaric lynching of many innocent souls.

I remember this vividly because of its terrible and sad consequences.

I was then an undergraduate student at the University of Ghana, Legon, and even did a feature article in the national print and radio media as my modest way of helping to educate the public on this dangerous, if not delusional and baseless hearsay.

Sadly, after over three decades, this Dark Age phenomenon has resurfaced in Ghana and other parts of West Africa (e.g., Cameroun).

Instructively, various scientific reasons may explain a momentary shrinkage or reduction in one's (usually males') genitals (e.g., fear, anxiety, sickness, stress, etc).

So why would some people accuse others of using magical powers or spells on them whenever they perceive a reduction in the size of their penises or testicles upon public contact?

A credible hypothesis is that this could be a ploy by criminals as pretences to attack and rob innocent people/strangers. Also, others may use such false accusations to settle scores against perceived political or social opponents.

It is also interesting to note that this phenomenon usually occurs in relatively poor and less-sophisticated communities, where the hold of superstition is extraordinarily strong on most people.

Without mincing words, the recent recurrence of this delusional Genitals-Vanishing Scare accusation against some members of the public is an extremely dangerous trend. This is why the Security Agencies in Ghana and other ECOWAS countries must act swiftly to nip it in the bud to prevent innocent people from being harmed or tragically losing their lives!