Political Utilization of the Occult: Avoiding the Occult

Politicians in Ghana either avoid or embrace the occult and its concomitant rumors for political advantage. The politicians who avoid the occult do so by either associating opponents with it or denying rumors about their own links with the occult due to the Pentecostal influence in Ghana and the perceived moral and spiritual backwardness of the occult. But their avoidance of the occult is to deflect criticisms and gain trust, as a result of which they delegitimize opponents and become the bearers of important news. This chapter is a discussion of some of the ways in which the majority of Ghanaian political elites and political parties avoid the occult and rumors about it for political advantage.