Apparently this is exactly what happened in the Assin South District of the Central Region when a mob attacked three men who were suspected of involvement in the beheading of young children. It was later discovered that they were innocent but then the beating was over and the fishermen had to be hospitalized where they are being treated – reportedly they are badly wounded.
Mob justice or jungle justice is always wrong. Let the police and the authorities do their work. The rule of law must always prevail. (webmaster FVDK)
Three fishermen mistaken as suspects in ritual killing case; assaulted by mob
The following article contains a weird story. It’s not about a ritual murder or ritualistic act, although witchcraft could be included in the category of ritualistic acts. The common base is superstition and the belief in the supernatural impact of one’s occult acts or deeds.
Adamawa State is located in located in the North East geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Federal Republic of Nigeria is divided into six geopolitical zones commonly called zones.
For the official website of the Adawama State government: click here
Man confesses to being a witch and turning his neighbour into a chicken in AdamawaState
Published: August 15, 2023 By: Azonuchechi Chukwu – Naija247News, Nigeria
Ms Azonuchechi Chukwu has a BSC holder in mass communication Ebonyi State University
A 23-year-old man identified as Tangla Isuwa, was almost lynched to death in Adamawa State after he allegedly confessed to being a witch and turning his neighbour, Danladi Markus, “to a chicken for three weeks.”
Tangla, who hails from Dong community in Demsa Local Government Area of the state, allegedly said he bewitched Markus and made him sick for allegedly killing his father by witchcraft in the community.
It was gathered that some youths in the community descended on Tangla and beat him up in an attempt to kill him for the alleged crime.
Spokesman of the state police command, SP Suleiman Yahaya Nguroje, who confirmed the incident on Monday, August 14, 2023, said about 15 persons have been arrested for allegedly assaulting the suspect.
During interrogation by the PPRO, Tangla said that in 2020, a man known as Mabudi gave him charms to fortify himself, explaining that Mabudi had asked him to mix the charms with white chicken and eat after cooking it.
Tangla said after he had eaten the chicken mixed the charms, he started seeing animals like rats, horses and cattle with 3 legs and sometimes 6 legs without other people seeing them.
Tangla said that it was at this point in time that he knew he had been initiated into occultism, saying that since then, he became a full fledged witch.
He further narrated that his biological father died this year, and alleged that it was Danladi Markus and his step father known as Absalom who killed him by witchcraft.
According to him, after the death of his father, he met Mabudi and informed him about his plan to retaliate by killing Danladi Markus by witchcraft.
He said that he caught Danladi’s spirit by 2:00am and handed him over to other witches where they tied him with ropes on a mango tree, saying that Danladi became critically ill.
He pointed out that a family meeting was summoned, and that at the meeting, Danladi started mentioning his name and that of Mabudi as those responsible for his sickness
He said that Mabudi escaped from the venue of the meeting leaving him behind, and that immediately, some youths in the community stormed the meeting and forced him to “lose” Danladi or be killed.
Tangla explained that he had pleaded with the youths to wait until 12:00am for him to lose Danladi and assured them that he won’t be killed.
According to him, he went into the spirit and untied him, but that he suffered a lot because Mabudi did not want him to “lose Danladi but to slaughter him for meat.”
Tangla Isuwa assured that he had succeeded in releasing Danladi and that he is at the moment sound and healthy.
He insisted that he is a witch but vehemently denied killing anybody.
The tragic death of a 12-year old boy, Ayomide Agunbiade, who got missing on his birthday, on December 25, and was found later with his head missing, led to a mob action, or jungle justice, which resulted in the death of the two alleged perpetrators among whom the victim’s uncle. Jungle justice is not uncommon in Nigeria where authorities fail to take quick action and the rule of law is weak. It all happened in the Odo Alaro area of Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. In this West African country ritualistic murders (locally called ‘money rituals’) are rampant as explained in yesterday’s posting. (webmaster FVDK)
Angry crowd lynches man for using his nephew for ritual
The man was said to have confessed to the crime during an interrogation after initially denying knowing the whereabouts of the minor.
Angry crowd lynch man to death for using his nephew for ritual [The Whistle Newspaper]
A man, whose identity is yet-to-be disclosed, has been lynched for allegedly using his 12-year-old nephew, Ayomide Agunbiade, for ritual purposes in the Odo Alaro area of Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State.
It was gathered that Agunbiade had gone missing on Christmas Day (Monday, December 25, 2023), which was his birthday after someone identified to be his uncle had come to pick him up in the absence of his mother that he wanted to celebrate his birthday with him.
According to a village elder who pleaded anonymity because he was not permitted to speak on the matter, it was when the case of the missing child was escalated within the community on Tuesday, December 26, that a boy, said to have witnessed the moment the missing boy went with his uncle, told the search party that the deceased took him out on Monday.
The source further stated that when the uncle was confronted about the allegation of knowing the whereabouts of the missing boy, he denied anything about it but that the boy insisted that he was the one who came to pick him for the birthday celebration.
Upon further interrogation by some community members, the said uncle was said to have confessed to know Agunbiade’s whereabouts but told them that he had killed him for ritual purposes.
The source said, “The boy went missing on Christmas Day (Monday) which was his birthday. We learnt that an uncle of his had come to pick him up when his mother was not at home. He was playing with other children in the community when the man came to pick him up that he wanted to celebrate his birthday with him.
“It was yesterday (Tuesday), when the family began to look for him but couldn’t find him that they raised the alarm in the community before a boy whom they were playing together with told the family that it was an uncle that came to pick him for his birthday celebration.
“When we asked the man to take us to the place the child was, he and one other guy took us to an uncompleted building where we found the body of Ayomide with his head missing.
“It was the sight of the state of Ayomide (Agunbiade) that infuriated the crowd who had gathered in numbers. The crowd descended on them and lynched them before police officers came around and took their bodies away.”
When contacted for a reaction, the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Omolola Odutola, did not reply to calls made to her line as of the time of filing this report.
Police probe Ogun mob killing, warn against jungle justice
Published: December 29, 2023 By: Johnson Idowu – Punch, Nigeria
Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola
he Ogun State Police Command said it had begun an investigation into the circumstances that led to the lynching of two persons over allegations of the murder of 12-year-old Ayomide Agunbiade for ritual purposes in the Odo Alaro area of Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State on Tuesday.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, disclosed this in an exclusive interview with PUNCH Metro on Thursday.
PUNCH Metro reports that two yet-to-be-identified persons were lynched by a mob for allegedly killing a 12-year-old boy, Ayomide Agunbiade, for ritual purposes in the Odo Alaro area of Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State on Tuesday.
Our correspondent learnt that Agunbiade had gone missing on Christmas Day (Monday) which was his birthday after someone said to be his uncle had come to pick him up in the absence of his mother in the pretext of celebrating his birthday with him.
A village elder who pleaded anonymity, because he was not permitted to speak on the matter, told our correspondent that it was when the case of the missing child was escalated within the community that a boy, said to have witnessed the moment the missing boy went with his uncle, told the search party that someone who presented himself as an uncle took him out on Monday.
The source further informed PUNCH Metro that when the uncle was confronted about the allegation of knowing the whereabouts of the missing boy, he denied anything about his whereabouts but the boy insisted that he was the one who came to pick him up for the birthday celebration.
It was also gathered that upon further interrogation by some community members, the said uncle confessed to knowing Agunbiade’s whereabouts but told them that he had killed him for ritual purposes.
“It was the sight of the state of Ayomide (Agunbiade) that infuriated the crowd who had gathered in numbers. The crowd descended on them and lynched them before police officers came around and took their bodies away,” he said.
Odutola, who confirmed the incident, stressed that mob action in any form is a punishable offence under the law. She disclosed that the command had begun an investigation into the matter and anyone found culpable would be made to face the law.
“A case of suspected ritual killing was reported to the Odogbolu Divisional Police station on Tuesday and police operatives swung into action immediately. On getting to the scene, the mob had already descended on the suspects. When our officers tried to intervene, the mob attacked the police team which led them to call for reinforcement.
“The police team eventually took the suspects who were in a bad state to the nearest hospital but they were confirmed dead by the doctor on duty. Their bodies and that of the 11-year-old boy had been deposited at the morgue for autopsy.
“The command wish to state clearly that jungle justice or mob action is a punishable offense. We have commenced investigation into the matter and whoever is found culpable will be prosecuted.
“The Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alamutu, remains committed to riding the state of criminal elements and will not rest on its oars in dealing decisively with criminals,” Odutola concluded.
For allegedly killing a 12-year-old boy, Ayomide Ogunbiade for ritual purposes, two yet-to-be-identified persons were reportedly lynched by a mob in the Odo Alaro area of Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun State on Tuesday.
Published: December 28, 2023 By: Kazeem Badmus – OsunDefender, Nigeria
Osun Defender gathered that Agunbiade went missing on Monday after someone identified to be his uncle had come to pick him up in the absence of his mother that he wanted to celebrate his birthday with him.
A resident of the area who pleaded anonymity, said a boy who witnessed the moment the missing boy went with his uncle, told the search party that an uncle took him out on Monday,
The source said although the uncle denied involvement when confronted about the allegation, the boy insisted that he was the one who came to pick him up for the birthday celebration.
It was also gathered that upon further interrogation by some community members, the said uncle confessed to knowing Agunbiade’s whereabouts but told them that he had killed him for ritual purposes.
The source said, “The boy went missing on Christmas Day (Monday) which was his birthday. We learnt that an uncle of his had come to pick him up when his mother was not at home. He was playing with other children in the community when the man came to pick him up that he wanted to celebrate his birthday with him.
“It was yesterday (Tuesday) when the family began to look for him but couldn’t find him that they raised the alarm in the community before a boy whom they were playing together with told the family that it was an uncle that came to pick him up for his birthday celebration.
“When we asked the man to take us to the place the child was, he and one other guy took us to an uncompleted building where we found the body of Ayomide with his head missing.
“It was the sight of the state of Ayomide (Agunbiade) that infuriated the crowd who had gathered in numbers. The crowd descended on them and lynched them before police officers came around and took their bodies away.”
A senior police source close to the community confirmed the incident but declined to comment further for lack of authority to speak with the media.
“The incident truly happened but you know I cannot make comments on it because I am not authorised to speak with the media.”
The relations between modern politics and politicians on the one hand and tribal chieftainship (bogosi) and tribal leaders (dikgosi, plural of kgosi) on the other constitute an interactive world and are not undisputed, Botswana President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi was told at a kgotla meeting in Lerala on November 27. President Masisi urged politicians to desist from interfering in bogosi issues and urged dikgosi not to get involved in politics. At the same occasion President Masisi warned against ‘jungle justice’, as had happened in Molepolole where citizens went on the rampage following the discovery of the body of a victim of a suspected ritual murder. He plainly condemned the recent suspected ritual killing incidents and arson that occurred in Molepolole. Read the full article below for the details. (webmaster FVDK)
President Mokgweetsi Masisi condemns ritual killings and mob justice
President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has condemned the recent suspected ritual killing incidents and arson that occurred in Molepolole.
Addressing a kgotla meeting in Lerala yesterday, he said incidents of suspected ritual killings and burning of properties disrupted peace and stability in the country. He said these unfortunate occasions must stop and cautioned the community against taking the law into their own hands when they heard about such incidents.
In Molepolole, some residents torched houses, a shelter at the village kgotla and barricaded roads with tyres following the suspected ritual murder of a taxi driver, Phenyo Jakoba, whose body was discovered decomposed.
President Masisi said perpetrators of the arson were not different from ritual murderers.
He pleaded with the public to always allow police to investigate cases and let the law take its course. President Masisi advised the public to be patient as investigations followed certain procedures that could take time to be completed.
The public, he said should assist the police in their investigations instead of committing crimes.
The President also spoke against those who used social media to organise themselves to carry out attacks, warning that action would be taken against them.
Responding to Kgosi Sello Moroka of Lerala, who had in his welcome remarks raised concern about politicians who got involved in bogosi issues, President Masisi urged politicians to avoid interfering in bogosi issues and also advised dikgosi against involvement in political matters.
On the request to consult and propose an establishment of buffer zones between Tuli Block farms and the border line between Botswana and South Africa, which was raised by the Village Development Committee chairperson Mr Leruo Matala, President Masisi said consultations on the subject were on going.
Although not the main focus of this website I find it useful and necessary to draw attention to this phenomenon which is based on superstition, violates human rights and creates many innocent victims – not only elderly women and men but also children, just like ritual murders.
I wish to commend Charlotte Müller and Sertan Sanderson of DW (Deutsche Welle) – see below – for an excellent article on this topic. It’s an impressive account of what happens to people accused of witchcraft and victims sof superstition. (FVDK)
World Day Against Witch Hunts: People With Dementia Are Not Witches
Witch camps in Ghana
Published: August 4, 2023 By: The Ghana Report
August 10 has been designated World Day against Witch Hunts. The Advocacy for Alleged Witches welcomes this development and urges countries to mark this important day, and try to highlight past and contemporary sufferings and abuses of alleged witches in different parts of the globe.
Witchcraft belief is a silent killer of persons. Witchcraft accusation is a form of death sentence in many places. People suspected of witchcraft, especially women and children, are banished, persecuted, and murdered in over 40 countries across the globe. Unfortunately, this tragic incident has not been given the attention it deserves.
Considered a thing of the past in Western countries, this vicious phenomenon has been minimized. Witch persecution is not treated with urgency. It is not considered a global priority. Meanwhile, witch hunting rages across Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
The misconceptions that characterized witch hunting in early modern Europe have not disappeared. Witchcraft imaginaries and other superstitions still grip the minds of people with force and ferocity. Reinforced by traditional, Christian, Islamic, and Hindu religious dogmas, occult fears and anxieties are widespread.
Many people make sense of death, illness, and other misfortunes using the narratives of witchcraft and malevolent magic. Witch hunters operate with impunity in many countries, including nations with criminal provisions against witchcraft accusations and jungle justice.
Some of the people who are often accused and targeted as witches are elderly persons, especially those with dementia.
To help draw attention to this problem, the Advocacy for Alleged Witches has chosen to focus on dementia for this year’s World Day against Witch Hunts. People with dementia experience memory loss, poor judgment, and confusion.
Their thinking and problem-solving abilities are impaired. Unfortunately, these health issues are misunderstood and misinterpreted. Hence, some people treat those with dementia with fear, not respect. They spiritualize these health conditions, and associate them with witchcraft and demons.
There have been instances where people with dementia left their homes or care centers, and were unable to return or recall their home addresses. People claimed that they were returning from witchcraft meetings; that they crash landed on their way to their occult gatherings while flying over churches or electric poles.
Imagine that! People forge absurd and incomprehensible narratives to justify the abuse of people with dementia. Sometimes, people claim that those suffering dementia turn into cats, birds, or dogs. As a result of these misconceptions, people maltreat persons with dementia without mercy; they attack, beat, and lynch them. Family members abandon them and make them suffer painful and miserable deaths. AfAW urges the public to stop these abuses, and treat people with dementia with care and compassion.
Accusations of witchcraft typically affect the most vulnerable — such as this refugee living in the DRC Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Scoppa
Published: August 10, 2023 By: Charlotte Müller | Sertan Sanderson – DW
Witch hunts are far from being a thing of the past — even in the 21st century. In many countries, this is still a sad reality for many women today. That is why August 10 has been declared a World Day against Witch Hunts.
Akua Denteh was beaten to death in Ghana’s East Gonja District last month — after being accused of being a witch. The murder of the 90-year-old has once more highlighted the deep-seated prejudices against women accused of practicing witchcraft in Ghana, many of whom are elderly.
An arrest was made in early August, but the issue continues to draw attention after authorities were accused of dragging their heels in the case. Human rights and gender activists now demand to see change in culture in a country where supernatural beliefs play a big role.
But the case of Akua Denteh is far from an isolated instance in Ghana, or indeed the world at large. In many countries of the world, women are still accused of practicing witchcraft each year. They are persecuted and even killed in organized witch hunts — especially in Africa but also in Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Many women in Ghana are pushed to live in so-called witch camps because they are rejected by society Image: picture-alliance/Pacific Press/L. Wateridge
Witch hunts: a contemporary issue
Those accused of witchcraft have now found a perhaps unlikely charity ally in their fight for justice: the Catholic missionary society missio, which is part of the global Pontifical Mission Societies under the jurisdiction of the Pope, has declared August 10 as World Day against Witch Hunts, saying that in at least 36 nations around the world, people continue to be persecuted as witches.
While the Catholic Church encouraged witch hunts in Europe from the 15th to the 18th century, it is now trying to shed light into this dark practice. Part of this might be a sense of historical obligation — but the real driving force is the number of victims that witch hunts still cost today.
Historian Wolfgang Behringer, who works as a professor specializing in the early modern age at Saarland University, firmly believes in putting the numbers in perspective. He told DW that during these three centuries, between 50,000 and 60,000 people are assumed to have been killed for so-called crimes of witchcraft — a tally that is close to being twice the population of some major German cities at the time.
But he says that in the 20th century alone, more people accused of witchcraft were brutally murdered than during the three centuries when witch hunts were practiced in Europe: “Between 1960 and 2000, about 40,000 people alleged of practicing witchcraft were murdered in Tanzania alone. While there are no laws against witchcraft as such in Tanzanian law, village tribunals often decide that certain individuals should be killed,” Behringer told DW.
The historian insists that due to the collective decision-making behind these tribunals, such murders are far from being arbitrary and isolated cases: “I’ve therefore concluded that witch hunts are not a historic problem but a burning issue that still exists in the present.”
A picture of so-called witch doctors in Sierra Leone taken roughly around the year 1900 Image: Getty Images/Hulton Archive
A pan-African problem?
In Tanzania, the victims of these witch hunts are often people with albinism; some people believe that the body parts of these individuals can be used to extract potions against all sorts of ailments. Similar practices are known to take place in Zambia and elsewhere on the continent.
Meanwhile in Ghana, where nonagenarian Akua Denteh was bludgeoned to death last month, certain communities blamed the birth of children with disabilities on practices of witchcraft.
Screenshot – to watch the video please consult the source
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is usually the younger generations who are associated witchcraft. So-called “children of witchcraft” are usually rejected by their families and left to fend for themselves. However, their so-called crimes often have little to do with sorcery at all:
“We have learned of numerous cases of children suffering rape and then no longer being accepted by their families. Or they are born as illegitimate children out of wedlock, and are forced to live with a parent who no longer accepts them,” says Thérèse Mema Mapenzi, who works as a mission project partner in the eastern DRC city of Bukayu.
‘Children of witchcraft’ in the DRC
Mapenzi’s facility was initially intended to be a women’s shelter to harbor women who suffered rape at the hands of the militia in the eastern parts of the country, where rape is used as a weapon of war as part of the civil conflict there. But over the years, more and more children started seeking her help after they were rejected as “children of witchcraft.”
With assistance from the Catholic missionary society missio, Mapenzi is now also supporting these underage individuals in coping with their many traumas while trying to find orphanages and schools for them.
“When these children come here, they have often been beaten to a pulp, have been branded as witches or have suffered other injuries. It is painful to just even look at them. We are always shocked to see these children devoid of any protection. How can this be?” Mapenzi wonders.
Thérèse Mema Mapenzi is trying to help women and girls accused of being “children of witchcraft” Image: missio
Seeking dialogue to end witch hunts
But there is a whole social infrastructure fueling this hatred against these young people in the DRC: Many charismatic churches blame diseases such as HIV/AIDS or female infertility on witchcraft, with illegitimate children serving as scapegoats for problems that cannot be easily solved in one of the poorest countries on earth. Other reasons cited include sudden deaths, crop failures, greed, jealousy and more.
Thérèse Mema Mapenzi says that trying to help those on the receiving end of this ire is a difficult task, especially in the absence of legal protection: “In Congolese law, witchcraft is not recognized as a violation of the law because there is no evidence you can produce. Unfortunately, the people have therefore developed their own legal practices to seek retribution and punish those whom call them witches.”
In addition to helping those escaping persecution, Mapenzi also seeks dialogue with communities to stop prejudice against those accused of witchcraft and sorcery. She wants to bring estranged families torn apart by witch hunts back together. Acting as a mediator, she talks to people, and from time to time succeeds in reuniting relatives with women and children who had been ostracized and shamed. Mapenzi says that such efforts — when they succeed — take an average of two to three years from beginning to finish.
But even with a residual risk of the victims being suspected of witchcraft again, she says her endeavors are worth the risk. She says that the fact that August 10 has been recognized as the World Day against Witch Hunts sends a signal that her work is important — and needed.
Hunting the hunters — a dangerous undertaking
For Thérèse Mema Mapenzi, the World Day against Witch Hunts marks another milestone in her uphill battle in the DRC. Jörg Nowak, spokesman for missio, agrees and hopes that there will now be growing awareness about this issue around the globe.
As part of his work, Nowak has visited several missio project partners fighting to help bring an end to witch hunts in recent years. But he wasn’t aware about the magnitude of the problem himself until 2017.
The first case he dealt with was the killing of women accused of being witches in Papua New Guinea in the 2010s — which eventually resulted in his publishing a paper on the crisis situation in the country and becoming missio’s dedicated expert on witch hunts.
But much of Nowak’s extensive research in Papua New Guinea remains largely under wraps for the time being, at least in the country itself: the evidence he accrued against some of the perpetrators there could risk the lives of missio partners working for him.
Not much has changed for centuries, apart from the localities involved when it comes to the occult belief in witchcraft, says Nowak while stressing: “There is no such thing as witchcraft. But there are accusations and stigmatization designed to demonize people; indeed designed to discredit them in order for others to gain selfish advantages.”
Maxwell Suuk and Isaac Kaledzi contributed to this article.
Screenshot – to watch the seven images please consult the source
There’s not much reporting on ritual murders in Namibia, yet this ugly phenomenon also exists in this southern African country. Petrus Muronga and Puyeipawa Nakashole are to be commended for their investigative journalism leading to this revealing article about a wave of ritual murders in the upper north-eastern part of the country, in Kavango East. A striking characteristic of the more than 20 ritual murders is that they’re all committed during the winter.
In some murder cases the police have arrested some suspects but the frightened villagers want more action of the government. In the absence of effective and satisfying government action jungle justice threatens. Enough is enough. Who are the culprits? Why is government so slow in responding to this wave of ritual murders?
Warning: the following article contains graphic description of ritual murders,. Readers may be upset reading the shocking details (webmaster FVDK).
Regions of Namibia. Kavango East is situated in the north-eastern part off the country.
Winter time – ritual killing time in Kavango, Namibia
… missing body parts include lips, skin, fingers, toes, eyeballs, internal organs and private parts
RITUAL KILLING … Riaan Mukuve’s mother, Regina Mashodhi Mukuve, says she believes her son was mur- dered for ritual pur-poses as his body was found frozen with missing body parts. About 21 people have gone missing in north- eastern Namibia. Photo: James Jamu
n Namibia, as winter dawns, the north-eastern part of the country is about to be shaken by shocking news.
Again.
One more body is found mutilated, much to the horror and heartbreak of the people of the Rudhiva and Shadikongoro villages in the Mukwe constituency.
The villages are situated on the south-eastern banks of the Okavango River in Kavango East.
In this part of the country, people draw their breath beneath the dark clouds of what is believed to be ritual killings. And they all seem to take place in winter.
The unsolved deaths all have one thing in common: missing body parts like lips, skin, fingers, toes, eyeballs, internal organs and private parts.
SHATTERED DREAMS
In 2021, on a trip meant to accompany his friends to the memorial service of a loved one, young Riaan Mukuve (22) did not know this would be his last.
Mukuve was found dead at Rudhiva village with his body mutilated and floating in the Okavango River, north of Divundu, in the Mukwe constituency.
As horrific as it is, Mukuve’s story was nothing new to the villagers in the area.
Regina Mukuve says this image of her son is one she will never forget.
“His lips were cut off, he had no nose, no eyeballs, no organs, and his private parts were missing,” she says.
She describes her son as an ambitious individual who dreamed of completing his studies at the University of Namibia at Rundu and becoming a teacher, like her.
The young Mukuve was a second-year student at the Rundu campus and the family’s only son.
“Something of this kind has never happened before in my family, and nobody understands the pain I am going through. Therefore I want justice to be served for my son.
“His body was frozen, and I believe that he was refrigerated before they disposed of his body in the river,” Regina says.
According to her, eight people were believed to have been the last to be in contact with Mukuve.
They were fined N$20 000 each by the Hambukushu Traditional Authority for their alleged involvement in the young man’s disappearance and death.
However, the police say they are still investigating his case.
“Until today, I have not received anything from them, and they all claim not to have a hand in his disappearance. Until today there is no closure on my son’s death,” Regina says.
MOURNING … Felix Thikundeko’s father, Basilius Thikundeko, holding his son’s trousers. He says his son loved playing soccer and cultural dance.
21 MISSING IN SIX YEARS
A year later, also in June, at the same village, another mutilated body is discovered.
This time that of Felix Thikundenko (17).
Over the past six years, close to 21 people have disappeared at Mukwe. Some are discovered after a few days, with their bodies dismembered. Only a few cases have been reported on by the media due to the relationship the local police allegedly has with some media outlets, as well as the constraints of bureaucracy within the police.
Investigations into some of these cases take ages to complete, leading to the family members of the dead losing hope.
A FATHER’S AGONY
Thikundenko’s mutilated body was discovered in a swamp adjacent to the Okavango River near Rudhiva.
The Diyana Combined School pupil had everyone frantic with his mysterious disappearance.
His uncle, Basilius Mbamba, discovered his body in the same area where Mukuve’s body was discovered a year ago.
Mbamba, who was also part of the search team, said the search for Thikudenko started when he did not return home.
He was allegedly last seen at a bar opposite the family’s house.
The area where his body was found was searched a day before he was discovered.
“I miss him. Whenever I see other boys in the village playing soccer, I yearn to see him, but he is gone,” says Thikudenko’s father, Basilius Thikundenko.
He says his son loved sport.
“He used to play soccer, and he was good with our cultural dance group, he even used to do athletics. My son was really talented,” Basilius says.
He was robbed of his closest son, who always used to help him with house chores, he says.
The natural beauty of Kavango East…. but villagers on the south-eastern banks of the Okavango River in Kavango East mourn the loss of their slain dear ones and live in constant fear.
‘NO FREEDOM’
Residents of Rudhiva and Shadikongoro say they live in constant fear. They claim to have lost their freedom, fearing one of them will become the next body to be found floating in the Okavango River, butchered. So far, two people have been arrested and charged with Thikudenko’s death, and a third suspect was recently identified.
They are Steven Dengwe (22), Kandere Kavanga (36) and Thidjukwe Muduva (32).
Dengwe and Kavanga have been charged with murder and obstructing the course of justice for allegedly dumping Thikudenko’s body in the river. They remained in custody after their first court appearance in the Mukwe Periodic Court in July last year, and their case was postponed to 5 October this year for further police investigations.
Muduva made his first court appearance on 5 October last year and was kept in police custody pending laboratory test results.
However, in the accused latest court appearance on 8 December 2022, they were granted bail of N$6 000 each.
WITHOUT A TRACE
Cecilia Kaveto (40) says her mother left their homestead on 30 June 2022 and never returned.
Alfonsine Kamwanga (76) went missing when she went to the river.
Kaveto, a resident of Korokoko village in the Ndonga Linena constituency, says her mother sometimes leaves the house to visit her brother or to collect mangetti fruit or thatched grass.
She says the day Kamwanga left the house was the last day she saw her.
“When we traced her footprints, it looks like she went until the field towards the road leading to the river, and up to the riverbank,” Kaveto says.
At first, she says they thought her mother had fallen into the stream, but they noticed she had proceeded towards the main river, where her prints disappeared.
“We alerted the police on the same day. They only came three days later with a boat and searched the area, but they did not find anything.
“We have been asking ourselves a lot of questions. If she had been killed or snatched by a crocodile, we would have found a piece of evidence. I still don’t know what happened to my mother,” Kaveto says.
SYNDICATE
Mukwe constituency councillor Damian Maghambayi says although there is no evidence that people are being murdered in ritual killings, people are losing lives in his constituency.
He says the issue has been ongoing, especially in the vicinity of Kapako, Rudhiva and Shadikongoro. Maghambayi says more than 21 people have gone missing in mysterious circumstances.
“It is now so serious that community members wanted to take the law into their own hands,” he says.
Maghambayi says there have been several demonstrations by community members petitioning the government on the killings.
Although there are about three police stations and substations in his constituency, the councillor suggests a robust police presence in the area and the need to open up a substation at Shadikongoro.
Affected families and community members are pointing fingers at the police in the area for not doing enough to bring the culprits to book.
Some claim that police officers in the area have been bribed and that they are part of a syndicate.
Thitjo Dinyando, a community activist in the area, believes the killings are spearheaded by business owners, especially shebeen owners, who recruit people to harvest organs to boost their business.
Dinyando also pointed fingers at police officers at Rundu and those working at Mukwe.
No significant investigations are carried out to bring the culprits to book, he says. The police in the region are not keen to talk about the issue.
They say they do not believe the killings are ritual-related.
“Ritual killings at Mukwe are not a joke, and I don’t want to comment on that, because I don’t want people to panic.
“ . . . unless one has to come to us with clear information to give us evidence to follow up and link it to ritual killings,” says Kavango East crime onvestigations coordinator deputy commissioner Bonifasius Kanyetu.
*This article was produced by The Namibian’s investigative unit. Email us news tips from your secure email: investigations@namibian.com.na
Leo Igwe does not need any introduction. Multiple times I have posted articles on this indefatigable human rights champion. See e.g. my October 25, 2021 posting.
The belief in witchcraft and the weak rule of law in many African countries contribute to mob justice (or ‘jungle justice’ as this popular act is also called) and lynchings of perceived witches. In Kenya e.g., as in many other African countries, mob justice is criminal. Nevertheless, up to five incidents are reported (!) weekly in this East African country. The reader may guess what happens in other African countries… (FVDK).
Witchcraft Persecution and Advocacy without Borders in Africa
Published: March 3, 2023 By: This Day – Nigeria
The Advocacy for Alleged Witches urges Africans to campaign against abuses linked to witchcraft beliefs everywhere. This call follows the rescue of Nigerian nationals, who were accused of witchcraft in Kenya. As reported, the police rescued these Nigerians in Thika Town in Kiambu County. It was stated that an angry mob beat and almost lynched them while they were performing some rituals. These Nigerians claimed that they were conducting some prayers. It was not stated the kind of prayers that they were conducting. The police intervened, resisted the mob, and took these nationals, who sustained some injuries, to a nearby hospital.
The Advocacy for Alleged Witches commends the Kenya police for intervening and rescuing these foreign nationals. As in many parts of Africa, witchcraft accusation is a killer phenomenon, and a death sentence. These foreign nationals were fortunate. Police rescued them. In many instances, the police arrive late, after the damage has been done.
Recently, Kenya recorded incidents of witch persecution and killing. Last week, two elderly women, accused of witchcraft, were lynched in Murang’a County. There is still no information regarding the arrest and prosecution of suspected perpetrators of this heinous crime. In other African countries, such as Ghana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, accusations of witchcraft and witch persecution take place. Alleged witches have been attacked, killed, or banished. However, in most cases, locals are the target.
People often accuse members of their neighbors, members of their family or community. This incident draws attention to the fact that foreigners are also at risk of being accused. Africans should look beyond their borders in advocating against witchcraft-linked violations. People often demonize strange and unfamiliar prayer and ritual forms. They regard them as evil, as invocations of occult harm. African Christians and Muslims have been indoctrinated to demonize, occultize and witchcraftize religious others, especially traditional religions or any ritual forms that deviate from religion, as they know it.
As this incident has illustrated, those who conduct prayers and rituals that depart from local norms are at risk of being accused of witchcraft and evil magic. Witchcraft accusation is a threat to the lives of Africans everywhere. Africans should not look the other way as alleged witches are attacked and killed in other countries. They should know that everyone is at risk of being accused or killed for witchcraft, whether you are a local or a foreigner. Africans should strive to advocate against witchcraft accusations and witch persecution without borders.
The following figures are frightening. Watch out: I don’t want to be misunderstood. Not all of these killings were ritualistic murders, but many if not most of them were related to occult practices including ‘money rituals’.
Between April 2021 and April 2022, 281 people were killed in violent cult attacks across 20 states. Anambra state tops the list with 41 cult killings, followed by Benue state: 34, Lagos state: 29, Rivers state: 26, Delta state: 26, Cross River state: 23, Ogun state: 17, Akwa Ibom state: 17, Osun state: 14, Bayelsa state:, 9 and Imo state 9. Notably, Anambra and Ogun states, in recent months, became notorious for cult killings.
In recent weeks, Ogun state became the epicentre of cultism and ritual killings. Between 2019 and 2022, at least 64 people were killed in various violent clashes among cult groups in Ogun state.
Nigeria is at a dangerous crossroads. Persistent state fragility increasingly leads to jungle justice. Poverty and poor perspectives provide powerful motives for the army of jobless young boys and girls to seek a better life in cult groups. The authority of the state is at stake (webmaster FVDK).
Halt rising tide of cult attacks, wars
Published: April 15, 2022 By: Editorial – Daily Trust, Nigeria
While some states in North West and North Central Nigeria contend with banditry and kidnapping, more than a dozen states in the southern part of the country suffer from cult killings. Between April 2021 and April 2022, 281 people were killed in fierce cult attacks across 20 states. The states include Anambra which tops the chart with 41 cult killings, Benue 34, Lagos 29, Rivers 26, Delta 26, Cross River 23, Ogun 17, Akwa Ibom 17, Osun 14, Bayelsa, 9 and Imo 9. Anambra and Ogun states, in recent months, became notorious for cult killings.
In February this year, at least 20 people were killed when suspected cultists invaded a burial in Ebenebe, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State. They also desecrated the corpse of a suspected member, identified as Ozo, which had been prepared for burial. In recent weeks, Ogun became the epicentre of cultism and ritual killings. Between 2019 and 2022, no fewer than 64 people were killed in various violent clashes among cult groups in Ogun State.
In the latest onslaught, 16 persons were killed in Abeokuta including a kingpin identified as Tommy, who was hacked down at Panseke in a renewed cult war. Tommy ruled streets of Oluwo, Onikolobo, Adigbe and Panseke areas of Abeokuta. Tommy’s assailants tracked him to the chaotic Pankese area at night, stabbed him in the head and left him to die in the pool of his blood.
Responding to the clashes between the Eiye and Aiye cult groups in Ogun State that lasted for over a week, President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, directed the police and other law enforcement agencies to confront groups seeking to destroy peace.
Governor of Ogun State Adedapo Abiodun had, in January this year, re-launched the state joint security outfit, code-named OP-MESA, where he threatened to make Ogun inhabitable for all criminals. In February 2022, Abiodun signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, in Abeokuta, where he declared that criminals were after his life because he was “making life unbearable for them”.
Cultism suggests nothing but evil. It involves the coming together of a group with deviant beliefs and practices that are not only exclusively kept away from the knowledge of others but such activities are carried out at odd hours of the day. Some plausible causes of cultism include peer group influence, parental background, drug and substance addiction, societal decadence, poor education standards, loneliness and the lack of recreational facilities.
In Nigerian tertiary institutions, for instance, Black Axe, Buccaneers, Vikings, Aro Mates, Supreme Eiye, Black Eye, Black Beret, Black Bra, Daughters of Jezebel are common names of cult groups. Their common features of identity include initiation through the use of blood or inscription of marks on the bodies of new members; oath-taking; and the use of specific colour as group symbol. It is in the character of cult members to engage in armed robbery, sexual assault, drug abuse, examination malpractice, harassment and bullying of students, and intimidating lecturers for grades.
Cultism has continued to survive partly because of the patronage from the society including politicians who use cultists either as hit men during elections or for assassinating political opponents. While some become cultists in their search for protection, others join cult groups to avenge an assault or a painful past. Some students become cultists out of the desire to become “Big Boys” and superior to their peers.
To halt the rising tide of cultism, parents must give more quality time and attention to their children’s moral development than they give to their businesses or office work. Good parenting requires bridging all communication gaps between parents and their children. To de-radicalise our youths, we call on the National Universities Commission (NUC) to make moral education a General Studies (GST) course for all students of tertiary institutions in the country.
As we recently reiterated on this page, only concrete security measures, not empty directives, would rescue the country from the security challenges confronting it. Government must demonstrate genuine political will to protect lives from cult attacks. The need to deploy modern technology in surveillance, intelligence and detective operations of security agencies cannot be more strategic than now when criminal elements have become more sophisticated.
If “an idle mind” as they say “is a devil’s workshop”, local governments in the country are advised to provide recreational and sports facilities that would keep the army of jobless young boys and girls in their localities busy. While we call on state governments to seasonally organise inter-schools or inter-LGAs sports competitions, we also urge them to support schools with basic sporting equipment. We encourage the NDLEA to sustain its ongoing offensive against drug peddling and abuse, just as we urge the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to, as part of its mandate; orientate the Nigerian public on the sacredness of human life.
NB: Message from The editors, Daily Trust, Nigeria: Dear Reader, Every day, we work hard to provide readers such as you with the most accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive information. Quality journalism costs money. Today, we’re asking that you support us to do more. Your support means that Daily Trust can keep offering journalism to everyone in the world. See the link included in the source mentioned below to sign up to become a member. (webmaster FVDK)
An Ondo State Police public relation officer confirmed the death of Tunde Olayiwola, but did not give details of what led to his death.
Is this another example of jungle justice? Further investigation will have to learn what caused Olayiwola’s death but if there’s foul play the rule of law demands that those who are responsible for his unnatural death must account for their deeds. It’s a gross violation of a suspect’s legal and human rights to be maltreated or even killed while in police custody.
But will we ever hear the truth about what happened to Tunde Olayiwola? (webmaster FVDK).
Suspect with fresh human head dies in police custody
Published: December 26, 2021 By: Babatope Okeowo, Akure – The New Telegraph
A suspected ritualist, Tunde Olayiwola who was arrested by the Ondo State Police Command for unlawful possession of fresh human head has died in their custody, it was learnt yesterday.
Olayiwola, who was paraded alongside eight others suspects arrested for various criminal offences ranging from murder, kidnapping and cultism last week Thursday, died in the police clinic in Akure, the state capital.
Olayiwola, who claimed to be an herbalist of 53 years experience, said he bought the fresh human head from one of his customers for N60, 000 in order to use it for money making ritual.
He confessed that the head found in his possession was to be used to ensure he had a better life, saying he did not have any regrets for using a human head for ritual purposes.
He said if it was his son that was killed for money making ritual, he said that was his end and would do nothing about it.
He refused to give the name of his accomplices saying he wanted to be rich just as his counterparts.
The Commissioner of Police, Mr Oyeyemi Oyediran, who paraded the suspect, said the Police received information that a self acclaimed cleric named Alfa Tunde Olayiwola, a suspected ritualist, was about to receive a consignment suspected to be a human head.
Oyediran said the Police immediately swung into action and the cleric was apprehended at Ajagbale Area of Oka, Ondo town. He added that a fresh human head was found in his custody.
But on Sunday, a police source, who did not want his name in print, said the cleric, who was apprehended at Oka, Ondo West Local Government, slumped at Special Anti-cultist Section of the state police command, located along FUTA road in Akure.
The Police Public Relation Officer, Funmilayo Odunlami confirmed the death of the suspect, but did not give details of what led to his death.
The following article warrants three comments. First, accusing someone of ritualistic activities – worse, ritualistic murder – without sufficient grounds is a dangerous behavior. Not only it damages the reputation of the alleged killer but it may also easily lead to ‘jungle justice’: a mob taking the rule of law into their own hands, which is an inherent contradiction. In a country, where the rule of law exists, there is no place for mob justice.
Secondly, no accused person is guilty unless found guilty by an impartial judge in a public and transparent trial where the suspect has full access to his rights including the right of a proper defense and the assumption of being not guilty.
However, and I come to my last point, the allegations and rumor which have damaged the good reputation of Kgosietsile Tona Mooketsi, a businessman and politician, in Botswana (below) would not have existed without a base, and – before I am misunderstood – I will make myself clear what I mean by saying this.
Without a widespread belief in the existence of ‘Muti’ killings, as ritualistic murders are being called in Southern Africa, the ordinary people wouldn’t accuse someone indiscriminately from involvement in Muti murders. The uneasy reality is that people do know that Muti murders actually occur. And that’s why, this is the third reason why I publish the article below: to demonstrate that Muti murders do occupy the people’s mind and the fear of being the victim constitutes a real danger, also in Botswana as I’ve reported earlier. See some of my previous posts, e.g. ‘Botswana: Cabinet minister Olopeng condemns mob justice‘ (post of July 24, 2018 but referring to a 2017 article), ‘Botswana: Ritual killers get jail sentences‘ (March 3, 2019, on a Muti murder case dating back as far as 2006), ‘The business, science behind ritual killings‘ (June 22, 2020) and ‘Southern Africa: shocking details of ‘muti’ murders‘ (May 21, 2021). (webmaster FVDK).
Botswana: Suspected Raboko Clears His Name
Published: December 22, 2021 By: Portia Mlilo – The Voice, Botswana
Former UDC Councellor denies child kidnapping rumors
The former Umbrella for Democratic Change Councillor for Mosanta ward in Mochudi Kgosietsile Tona Mooketsi is a worried man who fears for his life.
Flustered and troubled, Mooketsi walked into Voice offices on Wednesday to tell his story in an effort to clear his name after allegations that he was a ritualist started circulating in the village.
The rumour is that the 48-year-old politician who also owns a butchery is suspected to have hired hitmen to kill a child for business muti. He has since reported to Mochudi police station commander seeking protection from possible backlash from the unfounded rumours.
Speaking to The Voice Mooketsi said it started as a rumour which spread like wildfire and eventually turned into an urban legend. He said at first he ignored it until last weekend when he heard allegations that he had hired two hitmen to kill a child and the victim escaped. He said this has damaged his reputation and put his family at risk of gullible villagers who might swallow the lie hook line and sinker and seek to revenge should any child go missing.
“My fear is that, should a child go missing I would be the first suspect. I do not want to take this lightly. Just recently a businessman was accused of ritual murder in Lentsweletau, the community was angry and some burnt his property. I do not want the same to happen to me hence I reported to the police for protection. I suspect this is politically motivated by Botswana Democratic Party activists. They are cowards! In 2019 they spread a rumour that I am a cattle rustler” said Mooketsi who lost parliamentary elections to a BDP candidate in 2019.
When reached for a comment, Mochudi Station Commander Superintendent Mokuba confirmed the report. He said they however did not open a case because the police do not investigate hearsays. Mokuba said should Mooketsi name a specific person who uttered those allegations, then he would have a case of defamation of character to launch.
