Witch‐hunts on the African continent are largely motivated through localized forms of religious
extremism by practitioners of traditional African religions who believe that witchcraft is the cause of
misfortune, traditional healers (including diviners, herbalists, 'witch‐doctors') who use various forms of
divination to point out suspected witches, and charismatic revivalist Christian religious leaders (pastors
and prophets) who use their prejudicial notions of witchcraft as a manifest form of satanic evil to
encourage their followers to find (accuse) and convert suspected witches.
The words witch and witchcraft are used predominantly as an accusation throughout Africa, either to
describe a number of clearly defined traditional religious practices that do not self‐define as witchcraft,
as well as a number of variable urban legends perpetuated by religious leaders and traditional healers to
identify women, children and men who are not actual Witches.
In rare instances where alleged confessions of being a witch or practicing witchcraft are made by the
accused, reported testimony is either irrational or coerced through torture or threat. The 'witchcraft'
most often referred to as accusation, allegation and harmful superstition, exists only in the minds of
those who believe that witchcraft is the embodiment of evil and that witches are responsible for
misfortune, disease, accident, natural disaster and death. Witch‐hunts occur in almost every country in
Africa and they are increasing in occurrence and brutality.
In January 2009 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released a working report
on human rights abuses committed as a result of witchcraft accusations.
"An extensive literature
review of journal articles, UNHCR internal documents and newspapers has shown that
witchcraft accusations lead to violence and persecution in locations throughout the world.
Protection concerns from witchcraft allegations can occur at home and also impact individuals
throughout the cycle of displacement. Witchcraft‐related violence may manifest as domestic
violence, child abuse, or mob justice. [...] UNHCR and governments need to be prepared to
apply refugee law to claims that are based on witchcraft. By being aware that the phenomenon
of witch persecution is still very much alive, those in the refugee field may be better prepared to
pre‐empt or respond to the associated violence and provide protection as needed." [0]
[0] New Issues In Refugee Research Research Paper No. 169
Witchcraft allegations, refugee protection and human rights: a review of the evidence. (January 2009)
Jill Schnoebelen. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
In April 2010 the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) published evidence of an increase in
accusations of witchcraft against children [1] "...including orphans, street‐children, albinos, those
with physical disabilities or abnormalities such as autism, those with aggressive or solitary
temperaments, children who are unusually gifted; those who were born prematurely or in
unusual positions, and twins". [2] in sub‐Saharan Africa, including specifically Angola, Benin,
Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Nigeria. According
to this report a majority of the victims are males between the ages of 8 and 14.
[1] Children Accused of Witchcraft: An anthropological study of contemporary practices in Africa (April 2010) Aleksandra
Cimpric ‐ UNICEF WCARO, Dakar
[2]Children in Benin who were branded as witches for their "abnormal" births (16 July 2010)
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=89858
Several media reports published during 2010 highlight tragic human rights abuses arising as a result of
witchcraft accusations. The following news reports represent a small sample of existing reports of
witchhunts on the African continent.
South Africa: Mob kills 'witchcraft' couple
Bongani Hans, The Witness, news24.com
02 December 2010
Pietermaritzburg ‐ A woman and her husband were burnt to death in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday
afternoon after they were accused of having abducted a 7‐year‐old boy to use for witchcraft. Tholakele
Shoba, 54, a trainee traditional healer, and her husband Shezi, 60, were killed in Snathing near Edendale
at about 13:00. About 100 community members who killed them sat next to the bodies until a mortuary
van collected their badly burnt bodies at about 18:30. The community members repeatedly said the
couple deserved to die in that way because they had abducted a number of people who are still missing.
The couple’s house was also set alight. The attack followed the disappearance of 11‐year‐old Mthokozisi
Mpanza on November 11. His body was discovered on November 17 in a nearby stream with body parts
missing. He was buried on Sunday. The community members went to a sangoma ‐ known only as
Ngcobo ‐ on Wednesday morning and he told them that Shoba had abducted the child. It is alleged that
he told them the body they had found was not that of a real human being, but had been created
through muthi. A community member who declined to be named told The Witness: “He told us that
Mthokozisi was still alive and that maShoba has kept him together with other locals, who were also
abducted. When we returned from Ngcobo we called a meeting at our traditional leader’s house to give
them the feedback. We then asked maShoba to tell us where she kept the child.” Shoba was summoned
from town by telephone, and came to the meeting little suspecting what was going to happen. “After
interrogating her, she admitted that she kidnapped the boy and told us that she used him for witchcraft
purposes. “Her husband started to hit people, which provoked people to attack them with sticks and
stones before they set them alight,” said the community member. Mthokozisi’s 25‐year‐old sister said
they believed what Ngcobo had told them. “That Ngcobo is a credible sangoma, who is well‐trained. He
even showed us his certificates. We had no reason not to believe what he told us. He said he can even
stand in court to defend what he told us,” said the sister. Shoba’s elder brother, Gugu Shoba, 55, said he
was shocked at the way his sister and brother‐in‐law were killed. “They did not have to burn them. At
least they should just have killed them. “Usually is it true what the sangomas foresee, although I cannot
say my sister was guilty of practising witchcraft,” said Shoba. The couple had a 10‐year‐old boy living
with them. He arrived home from school to find their house burning. Police spokesperson Warrant
Officer Joey Jeevan said no one has been arrested. She was not in a position to say whether the
sangoma will be arrested as an accessory to murder. “Police are investigating the matter,” said Jeevan.
Source: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Mob‐kills‐witchcraft‐couple‐20101202
Last Accessed: 6 December 2010
Ghana: Ghanaian woman burned to death for being a 'witch'
David Smith.
guardian.co.uk
29 November 2010
Evangelical pastor among five people arrested for dousing 72‐year‐old Ama Hemmah in kerosene and
setting her ablaze. A 72‐year‐old Ghanaian woman has been burned to death on suspicion of being a
witch, prompting condemnation from the country's human rights groups. Ama Hemmah was allegedly
tortured into confessing she was a witch, doused in kerosene and set alight. She suffered horrific burns
and died the following day. Hemmah, from Tema, was allegedly attacked by a group of five people, one
of whom is an evangelical pastor, Ghana's Daily Graphic reported. Three women and two men have
been arrested. They are Nancy Nana Ama Akrofie, 46, photographer Samuel Ghunney, 50, Emelia
Opoku, 37, Mary Sagoe, 52, and pastor Samuel Fletcher Sagoe, 55. The suspects say the death was an
accident and deny committing any crime. They claim they were trying to exorcise an evil spirit from the
woman by rubbing anointing oil on her but it accidentally caught fire. Hemmah's son, Stephen Yeboah,
48, told the Daily Graphic: "Our mother was never a witch and had never suffered any mental disorder
throughout her life, apart from exhibiting signs of forgetfulness and other symptoms of old age."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/29/ghanaian‐woman‐burned‐death‐witch
Last Accessed: 6 December 2010
Tanzania: Police arrest 6 for destroying farm, burning house
Lilian Lugakingira, the citizen.co.tz
25 November 2010
Bukoba. Six residents of Maruku village in Bukoba rural district in Kagera region are under police custody
allegedly for invading and setting a house on fire on witchcraft beliefs. The six are also alleged to have
completely cleared a two acre banana farm in attempt to dislodge the owner from continuing to be the
resident of the village on accusations of being a witch. The Kagera regional police commander Henry
Salewi told journalist at his office on Tuesday that the group invaded the farm house belonging to Mr
Jonas Japhet,44, on early hours of November 22 on the ground that an elderly woman residing with him
is a witch. Salewi said the woman, Anagrace Japhet, 73 accused of being a witch is Mr Japhet’s mother
whom he had been living with for decades. According to Salewi, during the invasion, the old lady was
injured by stoning and received treatment at the district’s hospital. She was discharged on the same day.
Salewi added that Mr Japhet and his family are now staying with family members as their house was
burnt to ashes by the group and that the six will be taken to court anytime soon after the investigations
are completed. The incident brings to two, acts of aggression in distraction of properties by fire as well
as clearing farms on witchcraft allegations in just one week in Bukoba district. In November 17, an angry
mob invaded the house and farm owned by Mr Anthony Mutabazi, 76, setting it on fire as they cleared
his four acres banana farm. Six people were arraigned on Tuesday.
Source: http://thecitizen.co.tz/business/‐/5843‐police‐arrest‐6‐for‐destroying‐farmburning‐house
Last Accessed: 6 December 2010
Ghana: African 'witches' banished into isolated camps
Juliet O'Neill, Postmedia News
30 October 2010
What Karen Palmer knew of witchcraft came from fairy tales and movies. That was until she investigated
witch camps in Ghana, where more than 3,000 women live in extreme poverty, accused of witchcraft
and banished from their villages, many having fled for their lives. Palmer, a 34‐year‐old former freelance
journalist and current media officer for Oxfam Canada in Ottawa, exposes the fascinating and disturbing
plight of these exiles in her newly released book Spellbound: Inside West Africa's Witch Camps. She
chronicles life in the mud compounds populated by women blamed for deaths and illnesses and other
bad fortune, accused of witchcraft on the basis of someone's dream, often subjected to mob violence
and lingering suspicion even if "proven" innocent. She tells of such women as Ayishetu Bugre, a maker
of shea butter soap and lotion, accused of witchcraft when fellow villagers became convinced she had
trapped their sick daughter's soul inside an insect and was torturing her. The test of whether Bugre was
a witch hinged on whether two slaughtered chickens thrown to the ground landed on their backs. Both
flip‐flopped, landing on their backs, and then turning with their beaks in the ground. "It didn't matter
how the birds died: Her community had already convicted her and were determined to impose a death
sentence," Palmer writes. "Ayishetu was a witch." Badly beaten, left for dead, Bugre survived. She is one
of the women from the witch colony at Gambaga whose story Palmer pieces together in her book. The
witch camps, Palmer said in an interview, are "both sanctuaries and prisons."
Source: http://www.canada.com/health/African+witches+banished+into+isolated+camps/3749165
/story.html#ixzz17Mtxa6VB
Last Accessed: 6 December 2010
Uganda: Witchcraft, Land Disputes Escalate Murder in Lango
Patrick Okino, allafrica.com
27 October 2010
Kampala — Residents of Nginyanginya village in Ogur sub county in Lira district cover the body of one of
the victims killed in a land wrangle in 2008. In 2004, the clan members had banished the 60‐year‐old
Otemo from their village of Adyang in Omoro sub‐county, Alebtong district, accusing him of causing
death to his kinsmen using witchcraft. Otemo migrated to Gwengabara village, Boroboro parish in Lira
district, 70km away, where he lived peacefully. Otemo's visitors had brought a simple message. A clan
meeting had been called and everybody was expected to attend. Suspicious of the invite, Otemo
reportedly resisted. However, he was overpowered by the youthful emissary who reportedly dragged
him to the nearby Angwet‐Angwet police post before proceeding to Oora‐Aora trading centre, the
venue of the meeting. Here, the charged clan members reportedly descended on Otemo and beat him
to death, accusing him of using his son, Christopher Opio, to kill people. Otemo is just one of the many
victims of the escalating mob killings that have rocked Lango sub‐region over accusations of witchcraft.
Seven people were killed between July and September, according to Henry Alyanga, the central north
regional police spokesman. Police records show the victims were mostly elderly men and women and
the suspects were close relatives. On August 11, Michael Ojok, 70, of Akwor in Dokolo district, was
reportedly summoned by the clan and beaten to death after he allegedly confessed to practising
witchcraft. Four suspects ‐ David Okello, 38; Denis Otima, 35; Jimmy Okello, 22; and Joel Okello, 25;
were arrested and are facing murder charges under case CRB 613/2010 before Koroto magistrate's
court. One of the suspects is still on the run. Another similar case occurred in Barr sub‐county, Lira,
where unknown assailants on August 2, shot dead William Okello, 65, a resident of Apii‐Kongo village.
Lily Ayugi, George Acar, Martin Ogwal, Lameck Otiti, Susan Akullo, Esther Apili and Charles Obira were
arrested over the incident, but later set free due to lack of evidence. Police records show the other
victims murdered over allegations of witchcraft include: Pilumina Akullo, 70 (August 6); Kilara Oryang, 60
(August 19); Mary Joyce Atoke, 65 (June 29); and Constantina Akullo, 80, who was burnt to death in her
hut on August 5. The Police blame the escalating murder cases on ignorance and primitive beliefs. "Even
if a person dies of natural causes, they still say it was witchcraft," Alyanga says.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201010280025.html
Last Accessed: 6 December 2010
Malawi: Witchcraft on the rise in Malawi
Dingaan Mithi, mw.nl
25 October 2010
Stories of women teaching children how to use witch powers are increasing everyday in Malawi.
Although the Malawian law does not recognise the existence of sorcery, suspects are being arrested and
denied any justice. “The problem is that our police officers and judges believe in witchcraft themselves.
Actually, most people believe very strongly in witchcraft”, says George Thindwa, executive director of
rights group Association for Secular Humanists (ASH). It is estimated that 86 elderly women are in police
custody being alleged of practicing witchcraft. According to Thindwa it is illegal to keep these women
locked up as long as the Malawian government does not recognise witchcraft. Voice of the traditional
healer “Most of the witchcraft cases aren't based on the truth. It is just a smoke screen of jealousy of
the community against these women. These so‐called witches are just being victimised”, says Anderson Makwaye, a traditional healer. Makwaye who is specialised in herbs and traditional medicine, notes
that although issues of witchcraft in Malawi are mostly based on people’s beliefs, some witch doctors
take advantage of superstition to make money. “Some of the witch doctors claim to get rid of witches in
families. But they just want to make money. As a healer you should make traditional medicine, not
deceive people”, thinks Makwaye. National coordinator for the Society of Women and AIDS in Malawi
(SWAM), Thoko Mussa, says the arrests are a direct violation of women’s rights as the constitution does
not state witchcraft is punishable. “Women are accused of teaching witchcraft to children because they
are the ones who stay at home and take care of them. That is how society is set up”, Mussa explains.
Mussa indicates that women's rights are being violated because people stick to traditional gender
relations. “These women have a right to do what they want and have freedom of expression, but in
most cases they are not given a chance to be heard. This is because our tradition requires women to
respect men. These women have no say'.” But despite these calls for equal rights Malawian authorities
maintain a very different standard. Women who are suspected of the practice of witchcraft are thought
to be potentially dangerous and are being held without a clear legal basis.
Source: http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/witchcraft‐rise‐malawi
Last Accessed: 6 December 2010
Cameroon: Woman Hassled Over Witchcraft
Martin Nkematabong
12 October 2010
Last Sunday noon, an enraged mob paraded a weary old woman, half naked, along the streets of the
New Bell neighborhood in Douala, for close to two hours, reproaching her of reeking witch practices.
The furious prosecutors said "Mbamba" as the more than 80‐year‐old woman was fondly called, had
mysteriously swallowed several children at the New Bell locality, and lures many pregnant women to
enigmatic miscarriages. "No pregnant woman finds peace in the neighborhood," said one of the actors."In their dreams, nearly every expectant woman gets involved in a titanic duel with the old woman.
Children scream and pant in their sleep, pronouncing the name of the same old folk. We have lost more
than four healthy children in the locality, and different soothsayers have named "Mbamba" as the
cause," the young lady, who had sweated from neck to waist, recounted. The perilous screams had
begun as early as 11 a.m, when men, women and children shrieked and squealed to the top of their
voices, clanging and banking on every billboard, rusted irons and zinc sheets, planks and Indian
bamboos, along the main streets. They chanted and danced, forward and backward, hurling pebbles, dry
leaves, pieces of cloths and newspapers against the octogenarian, who panicked and staggered
helplessly, under irretrievable pressure mechanised by the brutal crowd. Age had really victimised "Mbamba", who moaned and quivered with an antic rucksack slung across her chest. The old woman
had become as bald as a retired monk; had lost every tooth, and the least taste of beauty. Hundreds of
undulated cracks and gullies had robbed her jaws and forehead, rendering her countenance a spider
web. Her breasts and buttocks, which were contemptuously sheltered with a tattered piece of polyester,
seemed to have gradually melted, with time, leaving her wiry trunk perched upon the sunky hipbones.
'Mbamba's puny eyelids had also been inundated by the tumbling eyebrows, through which she peeped,
and beckoned for rescue. With her rheumatic‐bruised limbs, "Mbamba" marched less than 30 meters
per hour, cursing and swearing. The "skimmington" ride was only interrupted by 1 p.m. at the Carrefour
Shell New Bell when the mobile intervention police squad cut in. Observers have described the scene as "more dreadful than Mary Magdalene's, some 2000 years ago, in the city of Galilee. At press time, the
accused was too weak to talk.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201010130399.html
Last Accessed: 6 December 2010
Mozambique: 2 Mozambicans killed for 'witchcraft'
07 October 2010
Maputo ‐ Two men, both at least 70 years old, were lynched by their families in central Mozambique
because they were suspected of witchcraft, the state‐run daily O Pais reported on Thursday. Five people
were arrested and admitted to the killings, apparently by beating the elderly men to death with sticks,
Sofala provincial police spokesperson Mateus Mazive was quoted as saying. Killings of suspected witches
had been on the decline in Mozambique for years, but this year five have been killed in Sofala province,
against two in all of last year.
Source: http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/2‐Mozambicans‐killed‐for‐witchcraft‐20101007
Last Accessed: 6 December 2010
Malawi: Witchcraft fracas lands 16 in court
Mtheto Lungu, AfricaNews reporter in Lilongwe, Malawi
26 September 2010
Sixteen parents will answer charges of malicious damage after razing down houses belonging to three
alleged witchcraft teachers, AfricaNews has learnt. The suspects come from Malawi's largest district in
the north. They were enraged when their children confessed they took lessons from three elderly
women aged between 46 and 53 in Embangweni from Amon Phiri's village in Traditional Authority
Mzukuzuku's area. "The children revealed to their parents the three taught them witchcraft and they
were tired of the practice. They said they also took 'flying' lessons to steer the 'aircraft," confirmed
Police spokesman at Mzimba, George Kondowe. Property worth MK141, 000 was destroyed by the
parents who ganged up against the accused women after reporting the matter to T/A Mzukuzuku who
questioned and warned the women from the practice. "That night they destroyed the property and we
had to move in. We advise people not to take the law into their own hands," said Kondowe. Malawi
does not recognize witchcraft as an offence and practitioners go scot free leading to angry reactions
from their 'victims'. The Witchcraft Act only says it is an offence to accuse another of practicing
witchcraft and one may also be arrested at confessing witchcraft practice. Many women across the
country complain they are taught witchcraft by old people in their villages, leading to poor class
attendance, witchcraft wars, mysterious deaths and several nocturnal accidents.
Source: http://www.africanews.com/site/Malawi_Witchcraft_fracas_lands_16_in_court
/list_messages/34874
Last Accessed: 6 December 2010 |
