Kenya: Evil spirits? Villagers stone to death suspected ritual killer in Meru

Ritual killing is wrong. Suspected cases of ritual killing must be taken serious. But mob justice is absolutely not the right answer to react to a suspected case – or a real case – of ritual murder. Let the police do its work. Let the courts do their work. The judiciary system must deal with confessed or alleged murderers. The rule of law must be applied.

People have a right to live without fear – hence my exposure of ritual killings in Africa, hoping it will contribute to more awareness of this horrible phenomenon. I also plead for the rule of law: murderers must be prosecuted and they have a right to defend themselves, aided by a professional lawyer. Therefore, there is no place for mob justice.
(webmaster FVDK)

Kenya: Evil spirits? Villagers stone to death suspected ritual killer in Meru

Published on February 21, 2018
By

Sheila Makena (6) and Justin Mwenda (7) were found dead. Villagers lynched the suspected ritual killer of the two pupils.
[Photo: Courtesy]

Residents of Mweru location in Meru County yesterday lynched a man suspected to be behind the killing of two children.

The bodies of Sheila Makena, six, and Justin Mwenda, seven, both Standard One pupils at Machegene Primary School, were found last week.
Makena’s body was found on Thursday and Mwenda’s on Sunday. The bodies were discovered 30 metres apart.

Angry residents yesterday confronted the suspect, who allegedly confessed that he had killed the two children in search of blood.

Raised alarm

Makena’s parents raised the alarm when their daughter failed to return home on the evening of February 15. Her body was discovered on the school farm by a watchman.

“The pupil was missing at about 1pm. When the class teacher checked the attendance register, she was not in class. Her class mates said she had gone to get mangoes from the school farm,” said Lucy Karani, deputy head teacher of the school.

The child’s neck was slit and her mutilated body lay in a pool of blood under a mango tree. According to Mwiru Location Chief Purity Mugambi, the body had parts missing.
“Her eyes were gouged out and her body was severely mutilated,” said Ms Mugambi.

Mwenda, the second victim, had been sent by his mother to fetch water from a nearby stream when he was stabbed to death. His mother, Varsity Karimi, said her three other children who were at the river with Mwenda, narrowly escaped death when they fled from the suspect.

The three later named the suspect, who was their cousin, leading to his lynching.

“My second born narrated to me how they almost died with their younger brother,” said Ms Karimi.

The children said the suspect threatened to stab them after appearing at the river where they were fetching water. As the three fled, he was left behind with Mwenda before the boy was found dead.

The family said they had been hosting the suspect after he fled from his home in nearby Gikurune. He is said to have fled after attacking his brother and torching his house.

“We knew he had a criminal record because he had attacked and injured his brother earlier. When he came here about three weeks ago, we accommodated him because he is the son of my late sister. We did not imagine he could murder his cousin, who seemed to be his favourite,” said the boy’s father, James Kimathi.

Villagers later accosted the suspect, who claimed he had been instructed to kill seven people and drink their blood.

Evil spirits

Villagers said the suspect was possessed by evil spirits or belonged to a cult. His family and those who knew him said he always carried a bag with knives and documents containing literature no one understood. Other blamed drugs for his erratic behaviour and the killings.

Reports indicate that the suspect tried to attack pursuing villagers before he was stoned to death and his body set ablaze.

Igoji East MCA John Kireria said insecurity was to blame for the killings. He said the suspect had been roaming freely in the area despite being linked to multiple crimes. “It is unfortunate that he fled from the neighbouring village after committing arson and causing grievous harm. We have a police post but it is unoccupied because no officers have been posted there because the camp was funded by the Constituency Development Fund,” he said.

Source: SDE Entertainment News – Kenya, February 21, 2018
Related link covering the same news:
Villagers lynch suspected ritual killer of two pupils – February 21, 2018
Published: February 21, 2018 at 07:31, Updated February 21, 2018 at 07:35 GMT +3

Meru County, Wikipedia

Meru County – Kenya

AfriKids: Ghana’s haven for ‘spirit’ children marked for murder

Further to my previous post – on Seth Kwame Boateng’s breathtaking account of a journey to an orphanage in Sirigu, in Ghana’s Upper East Region, in 2011, I find it heart-warming to read about the valuable work which is being realized by the non-governmental organization AfriKids. In Northern Ghana, AfriKids runs a centre in the village of Sirigu and another in nearby Bongo district. Though I am not sure, it looks as if Afrikid’s Sirigu center for disabled children and pregnant women is the same as the Mother of Mercy Babies Home visited by Seth Kwame Boateng in 2011. Joseph Asakibeem is AfriKids project manager in the Upper East Region. He and his team are doing a great job. Read about their work below (‘AfriKids: Ghana’s haven for ‘spirit’ children marked for murder’).

Joseph Asakibeem hails from the Kassena Nankana district (in the Upper East Region) where the superstition in the power of spirit children is most widespread. AfriKids and OrphanAidAfrica have been fighting against infanticide for many years.

In 2013 the two non-governmental organizations were joined by Anas Aremeyaw Anas, an investigative journalist and filmmaker. Anas’ film Spirit Child ‘promised’ to become a U-turn in the fight against infanticide. In the aftermath of his investigation, local leaders in the Kassena Nankana region banned the ritual killing of ‘spirit children‘. However…., a recent follow-up to Anas’ 2013 investigative report – see my post dated June 4, 2018 – shows that the practice of infanticide still exists in the region. (webmaster FVDK)

AfriKids: Ghana’s haven for ‘spirit’ children marked for murder

Published on February 27, 2018, at 11:50 am
By MIldred Europa Taylor

Ghana, Upper East region – This Catholic Sister has dedicated her life to protecting babies and children and plays a precious role in the fight against infanticide in the region — Afrikids

The act of killing babies who were born with disabilities was until recently widely practised in some parts of northern Ghana. These children were labelled as “spirit children” with the belief that they brought bad luck. They were killed to “save the lives of their parents and family”.

These children were basically taken to medicine men who would give them a poisonous potion and lock them in a room. The belief is that if you die from the potion, it means you are indeed a spirit. The children are then buried in an isolated place far away from the village.

This traditional belief was highly practised in some parts of the Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East region but thanks to AfriKids, a child rights Non-governmental organization (NGO), the practice has declined even though it is believed to be still ongoing in some parts of northern Ghana. The NGO has so far been able to save a number of children perceived to be “spirit children” in some parts of the Upper East Region.

Joseph Asakibeem is the project manager at AfriKids. The 41-year-old was recently awarded the Bond Humanitarian Award 2018 for his work in saving many disabled children who would have been killed due to the traditional practice.

Growing up in the Kassena Nanakana district where the belief in spirit children was deeply entrenched, Asakibeem told Reuters that he and his team at AfriKids started talking to chiefs, parents, opinion leaders and medicine men about the need to change the perception they have about children born with disabilities.

Asakibeem explained to them that there were medical reasons for these disabilities – poor nutrition and health care during pregnancy, and the inability to get access to medical help during labour resulting in complications.

AfriKids has a centre in the village, Sirigu, and another in nearby Bongo district, where they provide help for disabled children and antenatal care for pregnant women. Mothers, through Afrikids, have also been able to acquire small loans to grow their businesses.

The main challenge for the child rights NGO has been trying to change the mindset of concoction men and other community members about “spirit children”, but interestingly, many of them have now joined the fight against the practice.

For 10 years, no child has been killed for being deformed in Kassena Nankana, but Asakibeem said the act is still being practised in other areas. Babies whose mothers die in childbirth, or who are born after the family has been hit with an unfortunate incident, have the risk of being labelled spirit children.

As AfriKids continues to expand its activities to the whole of northern Ghana, Asakibeem is hopeful that the practice would be effectively abolished in 15 years.

In 2013, Ghanaian investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas published “Spirit Child”, an undercover investigation film on the ritual killings of deformed children. Two concoction men were charged with attempted murder and another three men charged with conspiracy to commit murder. 

Source: Face2FaceAfrica, February 27, 2018

Ghana – Upper East Region