Monthly Archives: May 2018

Nigeria: Anambra man connives with friend to kill mother for money ritual

Posted on by

‘Money ritual’ is a common expression in Nigeria and hides a barbaric reality: ritualistic murder.

Published on May 9, 2018
By Joe Chukindi

The Anambra State Police command has arrested Mr Christopher Okadigbo (52 years) for allegedly killing his mother, Mrs Roseline Okadigbo for money ritual. Okadigbo was arrested alongside his friend, Ameke Udolu, over the act.

 DAILY POST gathered that the left eye and the heart of the deceased octogenarian were removed when her corpse was discovered in her apartment at Nando, Anambra East area of Anambra State. Chief Innocent Okadigbo, first son of the deceased, told journalists on Wednesday at Nando that he suspects that his younger brother who killed her had the motive of using her for ritual.

Innocent said his late mother reported to him on May 1, 2018 the suspicious move by Christopher Okadigbo his younger brother and his friend, Udolu around her apartment on May 1, and that on May 2nd, she was discovered dead in her apartment. He said, “My mother told me on phone on May 1, 2018 that my younger brother, Christopher came to her apartment with one Ameke Udolu and were moving round making comments that were highly suspicious. My mother added that she was afraid of staying alone in her house due to the kind of utterances she overheard the duo make while moving round her apartment.
In the early hours of May 2, 2018, less than 24 hours after my mother’s apprehensive telephone report to me, I received another call from one Pius Aniefule that my mother was found dead in a pool of her blood’’, he said.

He spoke further that, “minutes after Aniefule’s call, my brother Christopher who stopped relating with me since 1999 also called to inform me of the incident, claiming that he traveled to Mina, Niger State from where people at home broke the news to him.’’

Mr Pius Aniefule corroborated the account given by Innocent Okadigbo, saying, “I raised alarm which attracted people in the neighbourhood and later telephoned his first son Innocent on the gruesome killing of his mother. As people rushed to the scene, we saw Ameke Udolu coming out of one of the rooms of late Mrs Roseline Okadigbo’s room and we held him. We collected his phone and uncovered some incriminating telephone communications between Udolu and Christopher the second son of the deceased.’’

“When we got the phone, we forced him to make a call to Christopher and put it on speaker which Christopher did not know, then Christopher told Udolu to hurry down to Nteje junction if he had accomplished the job and wait for him there.’’

He said, due to the revelation from the phone conversation between the two, the irate crowd started beating up Udolu.

He said that it was the intervention of the president-general of the community and the arrival of security personnel who later arrested the duo that saved them from being lynched.

Chief Ignatius Aghadinuno, the President General of Nando Community said at the time he got to the home of the deceased on May 2, 2018, he saw the corpse of Roseline and aggrieved villagers, as well as Udolu.

“Because of the massive beating Udolu was subjected to, I pleaded with the people and subsequently invited security operatives who later arrested Udolu over the act,” he said.

He said that Christopher was later caught hiding in the home of a native doctor very close to the community before he was handed over to police.

A senior police officer who led the team refused to speak journalists, referring them to police headquarters, Awka.

The Police Public Relations Officer of Anambra command, Mrs Nkeiru Nwode could not confirm the arrest as calls put to her mobile phone were not answered.

Source: DailyPost, May 9, 2018

Another article covering the same crime:
’82-Year-Old Widow Killed By Son For Money Ritual’

Nigerian couple working to eliminate infanticide in Nigeria

Posted on by

The remarkable recovery of Hope abandoned in 2016 after being accused of witchcraft in Nigeria made headlines. Photo: Nsidibe Orok/ Anja Ringgren Lovén Facebook

By on April 19, 2018

There is an ongoing culture of killing twins and other infants in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area councils. Christian missionary Steven Olusola Ajayi and his wife Chinwe opened the Vine Heritage Home to shelter children deemed “evil” by their communities.

Bwari, Kuje, Gwagwalada and Kwali are some of the area councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) where communities use infanticide to “rid” themselves of twins and other multiple-birth babies, albinos, babies whose mothers die within three months of the baby’s birth, babies who grow upper teeth first or babies born with defects. To the people of the community, these are signs that the babies are evil and will cause harm to its parents or the community at large.
The penalty for this evil is death by poisoning with a deadly mixture of plants and herbs, starvation, neglect, suffocation, crushing or being buried alive, especially in instances where the mother passed away before the baby is weaned – the baby will be buried alive with her body.

Infanticide was once common in parts of Nigeria, but work by missionaries in the late 19th century meant it became less so. Yet it continues to occur in secret in a host of communities. Campaigners and the government are trying to tackle the superstitions behind these killings and also to address the denials and secrecy that surrounds them in an attempt to protect vulnerable children.

Vine Heritage Home
Christian missionaries Steven Olusola and Chinwe Ajayi opened the Vine Heritage Home in 2004, a shelter for so-called “evil” children. For more than 20 years, Ajayi has been working with 40-plus communities on the traditions of ritual infanticide in the Abuja area.
In a sign that his 20-year-long grass-roots effort is having an effect, some communities are now willing to give away the “evil” children, rather than kill them. Ajayi says this is progress. “They don’t kill them, but they don’t want them,” he told Afrocentric Confessions.

Ajayi told Reuters that he and his wife do not put the children up for adoption but look after them until it is safe to “return them to their families”.

It has been difficult working against the culture but it is slowly bearing fruit, despite push back from some communities and their spiritual leaders. Their attitudes are reflected in their reasoning for the infanticide: Alkali Magaji, the spiritual leader of Kaida, told Afrocentric Confessions, “Our people believe that these children come from the evil one and no one wants it. We have a god we call Otauchi and we offer the children to that god. We suspect those children to be witches or wizards. That’s why we eliminate them.” The practice is so deeply interwoven with the local spiritual beliefs that complete eradication will be difficult.

Some places have progressed, however, such as Kutara village, where seven pairs of twins are living within the community. Ajayi said it’s one of the first villages to end baby killings. The local chief, Bature Dangana, told VOA that he is happy to see twins living among them.

Government Intervention
The Nigerian government began investigating infanticide in 2013, starting off a campaign to eradicate the practice. The campaign includes building primary health care centres and primary schools. Dr Matthew Ashikeni, the executive secretary of the FCT Primary Health Care Board, was part of the investigation panel.

“There was a need for enlightenment and education, so that the communities would know … medical science has the capacity to correct most, if not all, such defects. Billboards were erected in strategic places in those area councils, informing them that that was a stone-age practice and should not be done now when we have opportunity and exposure to science and education,” Dr Ashikeni told VOA.

Director Garba Abari of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), a government body that communicates policy, told Reuters that the campaign, dubbed ‘Eliminating Negative Cultural Practices’, operates mainly in Abuja although children are killed elsewhere in Nigeria. Abari said this was due to the fact that authorities had failed to find civil society groups to work with them to combat infanticide as there was a great deal of denial in communities and suspicion of outsiders.

The NOA therefore went on to employ local people to work on the issue, an approach that seems to be working as the government has received no reports of infanticide in Abuja in more than a year.

“You don’t just go and confront them, saying that you are coming to talk to them to stop it … The best thing is to use the traditional leaders and heads of communities,” he said.

However, the decline could be attributed to the practice going further underground, with communities now committing it in deep secrecy.

No matter what the numbers are, people like Steven and Chinwe are desperately needed to fight this outdated belief and provide a safe haven for children under threat.

Source: This Is Africa – Opinion

‘Justice system fails me’ – cries mother of ritually murdered son (South Africa)

Posted on by

Ms Mulalo Johannah Rambauli (58), told Limpopo Mirror that her son had been buried without some of his body parts.

News – Date: 06 May 2018
Written by: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

A mother’s struggle for justice after her son was ritually murdered has so far proved fruitless. Last month, the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court acquitted all suspects who had been pointed out as having taken part in the murder.

For the 58-year-old mother, Ms Mulalo Johannah Rambauli, the past 15 years have been a stressful and very sad period. It started when her son, the 23-year-old Mashudu Rambauli, went missing on 14 January 2003. A week later he was found with some of his body parts missing.

Rambauli told Limpopo Mirror that her son was buried without the left foot, left hand, both eyes, facial skin, both lips, three fingers on his right hand and four toes on his right foot. “He was also badly injured on the knees,” she said. “But still, we buried him without any knowledge of the whereabouts of all the parts missing from his body.”

Rambauli, who hails from Mavunde village, remembers the fateful day on 14 January, when Mashudu told them that he was going to the local soccer ground to play soccer. This would be the last day they would see him alive.

Even though the investigation into the murder started in January 2003, it took years before any information on possible suspects became available. One morning in 2010, Ms Rambauli received a phone call from the Kutama Sinthumule Correctional Centre’s chaplain’s office. There was a prisoner who wanted to meet her because he had some news he needed to share with her.

“At first I was reluctant to spend my money on transport to Louis Trichardt, where the Kutama Sinthumule Correctional Centre is situated,” she said. When she eventually arrived at the prison and the prisoner was brought to the chaplain’s office, she received the shock of her life.

“He explained that he had had sleepless nights and restless days for years, because my son’s spirit was visiting him all the time, telling him to tell me about his killing,” she told Limpopo Mirror. “He had already sought spiritual counselling from the chaplain’s office and was prepared to make a disclosure to me.”

The troubled prisoner, who was serving a lengthy prison term for other crimes, confessed that he had witnessed Mashudu’s ritual murder as he was among a group of about 20 persons who had killed the deceased. According to Rambauli, the confessor’s version of the incident was convincing.

“He explained each suspect’s key role in the planning and execution of the killing,” she said. “He was so specific with dates, times, spots and all other minute details. He said Mashudu had kicked one of the men in the groin and that the very suspect had later been admitted and treated at MediClinic. He said my son had been killed and thrown far away in the bushes. However, the confessor’s conscience troubled him, and he thought my son would rot and never get buried. He therefore convinced the other men to go fetch the corpse and come to dump it by the roadside near the homes.”

The information was later submitted to the police, and the prisoner also gave them a full confessional statement and a list of about 20 suspects. However, the police and the court allegedly failed to do their job and the inquest dragged on from 2010 until late in March this year.

“They just said there was no substantial information to prosecute the suspects,” she lamented. “That was unfair, because the confessor had told them everything. Why didn’t they follow up on the other suspect who was kicked in the groin and treated at MediClinic? There was also a time when one of the suspects started sending the confessor money via e-wallets, even though he was in prison, so that he should exclude his name. This person admitted to having sent the prisoner money on several occasions and said it was just an error because he hadn’t intended to send it to him but to another recipient.”

To further complicate matters, at least seven of the 20 suspects have since passed away.

The Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme (TVEP), who had provided counselling to the Rambauli family after the incident and the prisoner’s confession, said that they were not in the least pleased with the manner in which the court had treated the case.

“This case should have been taken to the High Court,” said the TVEP’s legal officer, Mr Fhatuwani Manthada. “There were so many facts that the Magistrate’s Court just ignored. The confessor’s original statement of confession is not even in the docket and they just used some document which we were not sure where they got it. Even the confessor didn’t recognise it,” she said.

Source: Zoutnet – News with an independent soul
https://www.zoutnet.co.za/articles/news/47116/2018-05-06/justice-system-fails-me-cries-mother-of-ritually-murdered-son

Mavunde Village, Makonde, is located in Limpopo Province, South Africa
http://travelingluck.com/Africa/South%20Africa/Limpopo/_977898_Mavunde.html

South Africa – Provinces

No room at Makuya court – South Africa

Posted on by

Part of the huge crowd that had gathered at the court premises, waiting for an opportunity to see the accused.

News – Date: 03 May 2018
Written by: Elmon Tshikhudo

Hundreds of angry residents from Tshitavha and surrounding villages who had come to attend a ritual murder case were left disappointed as they could not be accommodated in the small court room.

This was during the appearance of the six accused in the ritual murder case of Ms Mercy Ndou. Ndou was ruthlessly murdered in 2014 and her body parts were harvested.

The Makuya Periodical Court can only accommodate about 30 people and court officials struggled to control the huge crowds that wanted to be allowed into the court. This led to a late start of the court proceedings. Only close family members were allowed to attend.

The accused, who were under heavy police guard, finally appeared in court. In a short sitting, the State indicated that it was not ready to proceed with the formal bail application as it still sought certain evidence in connection with the case and one remaining suspect still had to be arrested.

The defence argued that the State had advanced the same reasons when seeking a postponement last week. After some deliberations, the court ruled in favour of the State, saying it had advanced valid reasons for more time. The date of  9 May 2018 was given as a final postponement on which the formal bail application should be heard.

The six accused are Gerson Mathoho (52), Eric Khobo (30), Rhulani Shirindi (43), Shonisani Muruge (53), Khuthadzo Tshidino (28) and Azwinndini Ndou (42). They are charged with the ritual murder of Mercy Ndou, who was 33 years at the time of her death.

Some of the accused entering the Makuya Periodical Court on Wednesday.

Ndou, originally from Shayandima, disappeared in 2014 after telling her family she was visiting friends and that she would come back later to assist them in moving goods as they were moving to a new house at another location. That was the last time she was seen alive. Her body, with parts missing, was found in the bushes at Tshitavha.

A traditional healer, Vusiwana Baloyi, was arrested and later sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime. During his trial in 2016, Baloyi mentioned the names of the people who had participated in the killing. The police took almost two years to act on the information, and only three weeks ago they made a major breakthrough and arrested the six.

The six, two females and four males, made their first appearance in the Thohoyandou Magistrate’s Court a fortnight ago and their case was initially postponed to last Wednesday for the bail applications.

On Wednesday, hundreds of angry community members gathered at the court premises, hoping to gain entry to the court to get a glimpse of the accused. As they could not all be allowed in court, they peeped through windows, some even insulting the suspects, telling them they would not be released and that they would rot in jail. Some were urging the police to release them, so that they could be dealt with by the mob.

“We are tired of ritual murders in this area, and we know that there are still others roaming the streets. We are just happy that even those who were being protected are now behind bars and our prayer is that they be punished for their heinous crimes. They should be locked in jail forever,” said a resident who did not want to be identified.

The Reverend Jabulane Monegi, the Ndou family’s spokesperson, said the postponement suited them well. “We have faith in the justice system, and the fact that they are in custody gives us hope that the wheels of justice will move at their own speed and justice will be served at the end of the day,” he said.

Source: Zoutnet – News with an independent soul

https://www.zoutnet.co.za/articles/news/47037/2018-05-03/no-room-at-makuya-court

Tshitavha is located in Limpopo Province:
https://geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-1873630&fid=5702&c=south_africa

South Africa – Provinces

Catholic priest among 11 charged for killing man with albinism in Malawi

Posted on by

web_photo_priest_02052018

Published: May 4, 2018
By: BRINKWIRE

BLANTYRE, Malawi – A Catholic priest, police officer, and a medical officer are among 11 people facing charges for the murder of a man living with albinism in Malawi, police spokesman James Kadadzera said.

The latest murder of a man with albinism in Malawi – the 22nd in four years – has sparked calls for their killers to be executed to deter a wave of attacks in the poor southern African nation.

Police said the dismembered corpse of 22-year-old McDonald Masambuka was found buried in southern Malawi several weeks after he went missing in March.
Information minister Nicholas Dausi said international rights groups and donors were preventing the government from using the death penalty to deter such crimes in Malawi, where people with albinism are hunted down for their body parts.

“They are stopping us from enforcing capital punishment,” Dausi was quoted by local media as saying at Masambuka’s funeral last month. “Yet in their countries they execute murderers. Is this fair?”

Malawi is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for people with albinism – a lack of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes – who are targeted so that their body parts can be used in magical potions and other ritual practices.
The United Nations’ top expert on albinism has said people with the condition risk “extinction” in Malawi due to relentless attacks fuelled by superstitions.

President Peter Mutharika has since said Malawi should have an “honest debate” about whether to apply the death sentence to those found guilty of murdering people with albinism.

Malawi suspended capital punishment more than 20 years ago as it embraced democratic reforms. Although the death penalty still exists in law, it has been declared unconstitutional.

Murders

But rights groups said the focus on the death penalty was misplaced and the government should step up its efforts to investigate unsolved murders and protect people with albinism.

“We never have any experience where the death penalty has been successful as a deterrent,” said Overstone Kondowe, head of the Association of People with Albinism in Malawi (APAM), which helps about 3,400 people with the condition.

It has recorded 146 attacks in Malawi since 2014. About one in 20,000 people worldwide have the congenital disorder, with higher rates in sub-Saharan Africa.

Only five of 22 murders reported since 2014 are in court, said Kondowe, with 17 unsolved. (italics by the webmaster FVDK)“We don’t have even have a suspect and nobody has been prosecuted,” he said of the 17 cases, adding that the police should reopen them now that they have better equipment.

“We didn’t have facilities of DNA testing to help with the investigation, so we’re seeking that because the current capacity can help to shed light on who was responsible.”

Rights groups called on the government to establish a commission of inquiry to find out who is behind the attacks, amid claims that they are organised by criminal gangs.

“There is a green light with the recent case where we have seen high profile people involved,” said Timothy Mtambo, who heads the Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation, a charity.“We believe a good investigation can open up our windows as to who is behind the trade … We would be able to say we have unveiled the market and done (away) with the roots.”

Mtambo also echoed a UN’s call on the government to implement its own plan to strengthen protection measures, including buying sturdy locks for poor families at risk of attack, and for public education to eradicate superstitions.

“It should invest in preventative measures, not ‘curing’ the problem,” he said. “It needs to understand where we have people with albinism, which can help in drawing security plans. Currently, there is no proper programme.”

Source: Catholic priest among 11 charged for killing man with albinism in Malawi

mi-area