In Ghana, a country in Africa, a big fuss has been made because a 63-year-old important priest, Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII, got married to a girl who is only 12 years old. They had a special wedding ceremony last Saturday that followed their old traditions.

Some people in their community say that others don’t understand their old ways. But in Ghana, you’re supposed to be at least 18 to get married. Even though not as many young girls get married early as before, it still happens. A group that works to stop young girls from getting married too early says that 19% of girls in Ghana get married before they turn 18, and 5% get married even before they turn 15.

Lots of people saw videos and pictures of the wedding on the internet and were very upset. At the wedding, some women told the young girl how she should act and dress for her husband, and even talked about how she should make herself attractive for him. This made even more people upset because it seemed like the girl was being prepared for grown-up married life, which many think she is too young for.

People are asking for the marriage to be ended and for the priest, Mr. Tsuru, to be looked into. But leaders from where the priest and the girl come from say that the upset people just don’t get their traditions. One leader, Nii Bortey Kofi Frankwa II, said that the girl being the priest’s wife is all about following their traditions and that she started getting ready for this six years ago without it stopping her from going to school.

The girl will go through another traditional ceremony to get her ready for being a wife, which includes getting ready to have children, according to local news.

Mr. Tsuru isn’t just any priest; he’s a very important spiritual leader in their community in Accra, the capital of Ghana. He does a lot for his community, like making sacrifices, praying for their safety, keeping up their cultural practices, and leading important traditional ceremonies.

The government hasn’t said anything about this marriage yet. Even though Ghanaian law says it’s okay for people to get married in traditional ways, it says no to marrying young kids under the excuse of following tradition or culture.