Monthly Archives: December 2020

Kenya: three men to serve 35 years in jail for killing village mate over witchcraft claim

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The following is an interesting case. This time it’s not about a ritual murder, a killing for ritual purposes, to enhance one’s wealth, prestige or power. However, it does concern an unlawful killing (are there any killings that are lawful??): it was a killing based on superstition which the accused committed, according to the verdict of the judge.

The good thing about this case is that the rule of law was upheld, even though the crime dates from eight years ago. Three accused, Mr Chengo Kadenge, Safari Kombe Koi and his son Kahindi Safar Kombe, were found guilty of murdering Mr. Karisa Katoi Kani, on suspicion of bewitching a women, Mr. Koi’s wife. The judge found them guilty of the murder which happened in Matsongoni Village in Ganze, in Kilifi County, on December 8, 2012. The convicted men will spend the next 35 years in jail. 

It is interesting to note that judge Nyakundi explicitly stated that “(..) belief in witchcraft as a justification to kill another human being, is not excusable (…).” Justice Nyakundi added that a fundamental principle is that courts should intervene where culture and traditions are used as a defense or justification to commit murder. (webmaster FVDK).

Father, son to serve 35 years in jail for killing village mate over witchcraft claim

The entrance to Mombasa Courts 

Published: December 10, 2020
By: The Nation, Kenya – Philip Muyanga

Three villagers, among them a man and his son, will spend the next 35 years in jail after they were found guilty of murdering their villagemate on suspicion of bewitching a woman.

Mr Chengo Kadenge, Safari Kombe Koi and his son Kahindi Safari Kombe were found guilty of murdering Mr Karisa Katoi Kani, whom they had accused of committing deadly witchcraft.

The woman who died is said to have been Mr Koi’s wife.
In sentencing the accused, Justice Reuben Nyakundi said the murder was well planned and executed with a joint common enterprise and malice aforethought.

Justice Nyakundi further noted that a fundamental principle is that courts should intervene where culture and traditions are used as a defence or justification to commit murder.

“This court, being in the exalted position of a trial court in murder cases, has a right and obligation to speak firmly and expand jurisprudence touching on belief in witchcraft as a justification to kill another human being, is not excusable,” said Justice Nyakundi.

Cultural practices

Justice Nyakundi said it is evident that the social-cultural structures on witchcraft beliefs can result in the killing of vulnerable aged men and women of the community especially older people who are socially and economically disadvantaged and lack legal protection. 

The accused, jointly with others not in court, murdered Mr Kani on December 8, 2012, in Matsongoni Village in Ganze, in Kilifi County.

The court noted that prosecution witnesses supported a clear narrative that the accused engaged the deceased in a physical altercation following a witchcraft cleansing ritual at the home of Mr Koi.

The accused person gave the deceased a cup and water with a concoction which was to be used to heal or restore the life of the wife of the third accused (Mr Koi).

“From the evidence, the accused persisted in violent attacks against the deceased, as confirmed by prosecution witnesses one to four. The acts of violence involved the use of hard sticks and clubs to inflict harm on the head, and within a few minutes the victim died,” said Justice Nyakundi.

He further ruled that the measure of unlawfulness and omissions by the accused demonstrates beyond reasonable doubt that the victim’s death was neither justified nor excusable.

Justice Nyakundi also rejected the alibi defence by the accused. 

“The nuances of the alibi defence generated by the accused persons are of such a character as incapable of credible rebuttal,” said Justice Nyakundi.

In their defence, the accused denied committing the offence, saying they were not near the scene of the crime and, therefore, would not be expected to have killed the man.

pmuyanga@ke.nationmedia.com

Source: Father, son to serve 35 years in jail for killing village mate over witchcraft claim

Geographical map, Kilifi County, Kenya

Gambia: Exiled dictator Jammeh accused of ritualistic practices

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A Gambian businessman, Sillibah Samateh, testifying before the nation’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission has accused former Gambia dictator-president Yahya Jammeh of sacrificing babies for ritualistic purposes. Is it a lie, a phantasy or the truth? 

The fact that I have decided to include here Mr. Samateh’s testimony before Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) is no approval of his allegations and accusations implicating the former dictator who was chased out of his country in January 2017. Jammeh  was forced into exile in Equatorial Guinea where he now lives, with the millions he stole before boarding the plane that brought him to the republic whose president is Africa’s longest ruling president, Teodoro Obiang. Equatorial Guinea has one of the worst human rights records in the world. 

Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh – his full name being Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh –  seized power in a military coup in 1994 and ruled the tiny West African republic with an iron fist during more than 20 years. Thousands of his opponents died or disappeared during his dictatorship. He has been accused of numerous human rights violations, murders, killing migrants, shooting students, arbitrary arrests, suppression of the press, corruption, rape, witch hunting campaigns – the list of accusations and crimes is even much longer. From this point of view the allegations made by Mr. Samateh gain some credibility, but – as I have repeatedly said in this place – ‘nobody is guilty unless found guilty by an independent, impartial judge after a public, transparent trial‘.

Therefor, I present the allegations without comments. I don’t say they are true, I don’t say they are not true. I only say that the accusations have to been proven (webmaster FVDK).

The rise and exile of Gambia’s ex-President Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh

Gambia: Exiled Gambian dictator accused of stealing babies from hospitals for ritualistic purposes; Jammeh’s supporters reject accusations

Published: December 9, 2020
By: Freedom Newspaper

A Gambian businessman has accused the former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh of sacrificing newborn babies for ritualistic purposes. He says the babies were taken from hospitals and sacrificed. Sillaba Samateh made the allegations before the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) on Tuesday. As Pa Nderry Mbai reports from Raleigh, North Carolina, Jammeh’s supporters are denying the allegations. 

Speaking before an interpreter businessman Sillaba Samateh claimed that he learned about Jammeh’s alleged babies’ ritual while he was under detention at the National Intelligence Agency in Banjul. Samateh said he himself was being used to transport the stolen babies into the office of the late NIA Director General Numo Kujabi.

The two former security officers Samateh named in his testimony Nfanli Jabang and Numo Kujabi have died.

“You know the seriousness of this accusations. That the President of this country, was taking babies from hospitals and take them to prison to Kanilai for human sacrifice,” Lead Counsel Essa Faal told Mr. Samateh.

Samateh still stands by his story. He says Jammeh was allegedly killing babies for ritual purposes.

Samateh was held at the NIA on drug trafficking related charges. He later jumped bail and fled to Holland.

He claimed that while at the NIA, he was often asked to pick up dead bodies and put them in body bags.

Dodou Jah is the Deputy Spokesman for the former ruling APRC party.

“If these allegations were true, where are the parents of those kids, they have relatives, knowing for example, my wife is pregnant, goes to the hospital to deliver, we are expecting a baby. Even if my wife happens to pass away, but the baby belongs to the family, if the family doesn’t see it, the hospital is responsible. And these are issues that cannot go under the carpet, the media would be in the epicenter of it and this news is going to spread, but how come no such story ever emerged,” Mr. Jah said.

Jah says Samateh’s claims should be treated with pinch of salt. He added that witnesses should testify the truth and stop making baseless allegations against Yahya Jammeh.

“Not I don’t trust the TRRC, but some of the revelations I don’t know what to believe and the lead counsel is proving to them that they are lying. A witness comes to the TRRC and the lead counsel is telling them you are lying, but people want me to believe what they are saying. You know until somebody said it is red, another said it is black, I am asking who do I have to believe,” Mr. Jah remarked.

Samsudeen Sarr is the former Gambian Ambassador to the United Nations. Sarr is also a sympathizer of the APRC party.

“If thing of that nature as gruesome that is, would have been talked about everywhere in this country. So, I have serious doubts as to the credibility of the story of Sillaba Samateh,” Sarr remarked.

Sarr says Sillaba’s reputation is questionable. He is not convinced that Samateh was being truthful to the Commission.

“His reputation in this country has not been very good. You that, you know better than I do, Sillaba’s name it was not associated with good things in the past and since the change of government, he has been trying to sanitize his name and join the Barrow government,” Sarr added.

Lead Counsel Essa Faal says given the seriousness of Samateh’s allegations; it is important for the Commission’s Investigation team to investigate the matter.

Samateh was in tears while giving evidence. He claimed that one of the NIA officers Omar Cham had even threatened to rape his wife while they were being held there.

In another development, a former NIA detainee, who wished not to be named has dismissed Sillaba’s claims. He has accused Samateh of lying to the TRRC.

“We were detained at the same location at the NIA. No babies were brought to the NIA for ritual sacrifices. That was a figment of Sillaba’s own imagination. I am calling you, because I feel that he was untruthful to the Commission,” he said.

“As you rightly pointed out in your radio show, Numo Kujabi and Nfanli Jabang are not alive to substantiate his allegations. He is using the death to sell a false story,” the caller added.

Source: Gambia: Exiled Gambian dictator accused of stealing babies from hospitals for ritualistic purposes; Jammeh’s supporters reject accusations!

Malawi: toddler killed after mother refuses to offer him for ritual

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A strange story from Malawi. A fisherman wanted to sacrifice his stepson in a ritual that would enable him to catch more fish, but the boy’s mother refused to cooperate. Later, he killed the boy anyhow and was subsequently arrested by the police and charged with murder.
(webmaster FVDK)

Toddler killed after mother refuses to offer him for ritual

Published: December 2, 2020
By: IOL, South Africa – Molaole Montsho

RUSTENBURG – A 3-year-old boy was killed, allegedly by his stepfather, in central Malawi after his mother refused to offer him to be used in a ritual, local media reported on Wednesday.

News website Malawi24, citing police, reported that the boy was killed on Monday at Mtambalala village, near Kasungu in central Malawi.

His stepfather, 29, who is a fisherman, had allegedly asked his wife to offer him the boy so that he might use him in a ritual that would enable him to catch more fish.

The boy’s mother refused and sent her son to his grandparents.

A few days later the man apologised to his wife and asked her to bring the child back to the house. The wife forgave him and the boy returned home.

On Sunday, the man allegedly raised the matter of the ritual again and she confronted him. The man allegedly assaulted her and intentionally stepped on the boy, who was asleep, until he lost consciousness.

The mother rushed him to hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival. A post-mortem revealed that the death was due to head injuries.

The man was arrested and charged with murder.

Source: Toddler killed after mother refuses to offer him for ritual

Manicaland, Zimbabwe: Honde Valey man confesses to killing 9-year old nephew for ritual purposes

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Sometimes I don’t believe what I’m reading. Like the story reproduced below. Maybe it’s not true. Maybe it is. Reading more and more details I get increasingly suspicious. Is this man, Jabob Muranganwa, speaking the truth? Is he reliable? is he insane? Jacob confessed killing his brother’s son for ritual purposes. In itself, it is already a story hard to believe although we know that these ugly practices occur in some countries, unfortunately also in Zimbabwe. The recent ritual murder of a 7-year old boy, Tapiwa Makore from Murewa village, in the neighboring Mashonaland East province, sadly illustrates this point. See my previous postings on this crime.

Judge for yourself if the following story could be true, whether Jacob Muranganwa is speaking the truth when confessing murdering his brother’s son. However, it’s now ‘s up to the police the investigate this case, up to the judges to try Jacob if there is reason to prosecute him. Its up to the law.  

Warning: the following article contains graphic details of a ritual murder (FVDK). 

Uncle murders brother’s son

Published: November 27, 2020
By: ManicaPost, Zimbabwe – Tendai Gukutikwa        

A HONDE Valley man recently confessed to killing his nine-year-old nephew for ritual purposes, before going on to harvest the minor’s private parts, arms, ears and eyes after being contracted to do so by his brother and another businessman, The Manica Post has established.

However, reliable sources in the community are saying the man is walking scot-free after making the confession.

Jacob Muranganwa is now said to be facing the full wrath of his late nephew, Zedek Muranganwa’s avenging spirit which reportedly carries him outside during his sleep.

Zedek was murdered last year by his father’s brother Jacob.

The murder came to light when one of the Muranganwa siblings — John —approached acting Chief Mutasa’s court accusing his brothers — James and Abraham — of harassing him and breaching his peace.

John said James and Abraham were accusing him of killing Zedek for ritual purposes. However, things took a dramatic twist when Jacob sprung from his seat to confess to the murder.

“I cannot endure this torment anymore. Every morning I wake up sleeping outside. At first, I thought I was sleep-walking, but when I started seeing Zedek’s image every night, I knew his avenging spirit was behind it all. “Whenever it gets dark, l see the boy’s image. I am the only one who sees him, even when I am with someone else,” confessed Jacob during the court session.

Jacob said he murdered Zedek for ritual purposes and harvested the boy’s private parts, arms, ears and eyes.

Three days later, he hung the lifeless and mutilated body on a tree near the boy’s home to stage a suicide.

Jacob fingered his brother, John, businessman Kwambana and another unidentified businessman, of contracting him to carry out a ritual murder to boost their businesses. John allegedly owns a leisure centre in Honde Valley.

“Sometime last year, my brother John, Kwambana and another businessman asked me to harvest a young boy’s body parts for money-making rituals.

“The next day I saw Zedek coming from school and I lured him to my workplace — John’s grinding mill. I promised to give him some money for his school fees and he obliged. I gave him sadza laced with Maragada pills.

“He ate the sadza and dozed off moments later. I took a hammer and hit him once on the head. Zedek died instantly. I took his body and hid it behind the grinding mill.

“After closing the grinding mill, I cut off the body parts. When John and his partners came to collect the body parts, they placed the body in a refrigerator. It stayed there for three days before they instructed me to hang it near Zedek’s home to make it appear like the boy had committed suicide,” narrated Jacob.

After Jacob’s confession, Chief Mutasa ordered his aides to accompany him to Ruda Police Station as he said criminal issues were beyond his jurisdiction.

However, John died mysteriously a week later.

He was buried last Friday.

The Muranganwa siblings’ relatives who spoke to The Manica Post on condition of anonymity said John was found dead. They said they suspect that Zedek’s avenging spirit might have pushed his Uncle John into an early grave.

On the other hand, reliable sources from the community said Jacob is walking scot free after being released from police custody.

Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Tavhiringwa could neither confirm nor deny the matter and said investigations were underway.

“We have called Ruda Police Station and they could neither confirm nor deny that they are handling such a case. However, word doing the rounds in the community confirms the murder case. We will need to dig deeper with the investigations to get to the bottom of the issues,” said Insp Kakohwa.

Source: Uncle murders brother’s son