Category Archives: femicide

Swaziland / eSwatini: King Mswati III frowns at rising number of ritual murders  

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Elections are scheduled later this year in eSwatini, a small independent kingdom in Southern Africa, formerly known as Swaziland.

It is not the first time that election campaigns are accompanied by a rising number of ritual murders – or ‘muti murders’, as they are called in Southern Africa. Already in a previous posting, on June 19, 2018 I drew attention to the link between elections and ritual killings in this country.

Swaziland (eSwatini) has a long history of ritual murders. In the recent past, in 2003, King Mswati III urged Swaziland’s politicians not to engage in ritual killings to boost their chances in the general elections later that year. Five years later then Prime Minister Absalom Themba Dlamini warned aspiring members of parliament against committing ritual murders to win the vote. In my 2018 posting I revealed that nothing had changed for the better. For briefness sake I further refer to my 2018 posting.

When will it end? What’s the use of repeated warnings? Isn’t it a crazy situation, we’re in the third millennium, and superstition is still rife in a country where democratic elections are being organized.

However, the democratic nature of elections in eSwatini / Swaziland is not what one would expect. Past elections in the kingdom where king Mswati III rules as an absolute monarch, have been characterized by a lack of transparency whereas according to Wikipedia the full results of both the 2018 and 2013 elections have never been published.
(FVDK)

Swaziland: King Mswati III frowns at rising number of ritual murders

Published: July 16, 2023
By: NKOSINGIPHILE MYENI , Swaziland Observer

His Majesty King Mswati III is disheartened by the rising number of cruel deaths occurring around the country.

Most of the deaths were those that seemed to be ritually associated as were described as the worst kind of evil.

This was shared yesterday through the King’s representative, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Prince Simelane, in one of the biggest prayer services in the country.

The national prayer for the national elections brought together church leaders from the three church mother bodies, being the Council of Swaziland Churches, Conference of Churches and the League of Churches. 

There were also other Cabinet ministers, church members of different denominations as well as members of the public.

Rendering his speech, the prince shared a story in the Bible in Genesis 6 verse 6 whereby God showed His regret by creating a person and further said that He was grieving in his heart by the evil that people do.

The King said in just a short space of time spine-chilling deaths have been reported whereby he further depicted the cruelty with which the victims died.

He first referred to an incident which occurred early in the month at Nkoneni in the Shiselweni region whereby the body of a 26-year-old woman was found with multiple stab wounds, her eyes gouged out and her throat slit. 

“Let me just point out to two or three of these in the country. Such cruelty Maswati! If you wonder why God is regretful about a person, again just recently, a boy went out from his home to buy goats but he was stabbed and killed.

“His throat was cut while he was alive and could feel it. They placed a tyre on him, doused him with petrol and set him alight,” he said while narrating that it was not only the events that were seen on television that showed cruelty.

He added, “The God of love saw the evil in people on earth. He saw that their hearts and thoughts were evil and regretted why he created them.

Tense
This may seem like a past tense but God forever regrets why he created a person, why? because of their sins.”

The King went further and referred to another incident.
He said in Malkerns just this week, another man was found dead with stab wounds as well as a slit throat.

He did not spare femicide whereby he said such cases were widely reported in the media.
According to the United Nations (UN) Women, femicide is a hate crime which is broadly defined as the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female.

“In our nation we read in the newspapers that men kill women with cruelty. 
They kill their wives, girlfriends and have also started killing their own children.
“Therefore, we are here to pray for elections so that they go smoothly,” he said.

Referring to other countries during elections, the King said violence was also rife whereby he said it was common to hear that political parties fight one another to the extent that people are shot and assassinated while others have their houses burnt.

Source: King frowns at ritual killings

Cameroon: widespread violence against women and young girls including ritual killing

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I rarely read news reports on ritualistic killings and murders in Cameroon. This is partly due to a bias in the methodology of my research and the selection of news reports which in particular focus strongly on anglophone news media. This however does not mean that there are no ritual murders committed in Francophone and Lusophone African countries.

I recently came across a news article on Cameroon which indicates the occurrence of ritualistic violence including murders in this West / Central African country. In particular, I read (I quote): “Every week in Cameroon, there is a report of femicide, ritual killing, rape case, or any other form of violence resulting in the death of a woman or girl.” (Unquote).

The main focus of the article being on femicide and the plight of women and young girls in Cameroon, I will refrain from elaborating on the horrible crime of femicide since this topic is not this site’s focus.

For research purposes I present the original article below, as usual accompanied by a reference to its source.
(webmaster FVDK)

Cameroon: Calls mount for comprehensive legislation to combat femicide

Published: May 16, 2023
By: Business In Cameroon (Yaoundé)

The alarming rate of femicide in Cameroon has prompted women’s associations and stakeholders to raise their voices to demand comprehensive legislation to combat the phenomenon.

“Since January 2023, we have recorded no less than 27 women and young girls who have died as a result of violence perpetrated against them by men, in most cases a spouse or a relative,” regretted the Minister of Family and Women’s Empowerment (Minproff), Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa. She was speaking during an advocacy session held in Yaoundé on the sidelines of the International Day of Families on May 15.

Even more alarming, the figures reported by Minproff, although already very high, are only the tip of the iceberg. According to women’s rights organizations, the situation is much worse than that because in many cases deaths related to gender-based violence are not reported as such. Hence the urgent need for a legal framework to stop the mass killings of women and girls because of their gender.

“A specific law against violence against women is a must in Cameroon. The head of State made that promise to us in 1997. And I now realize he knew such a law is crucial. We’ve always thought our current legal law was enough. Many things have indeed been done, many mechanisms have been put in place but that is not enough. Perpetrators must be deterred, especially when they are intimate partners or family members,” said the national president of the Association to Fight Violence Against Women, Élise Pierrette Mpoung Meno.

Grim picture

Many of Cameroon’s development partners also support this initiative. They call for the strengthening of the legal framework to put a definitive end to GBV. The UN Women’s resident representative in Cameroon, Marie Pierre Raky Chaupin, said femicides “are the most brutal and extreme manifestation of a continuum of violence against women and girls”.

“Cameron lacks a legal framework against GBV, but there are many provisions that punish different forms of gender-based violence. We may need to examine the existing strong legal framework in Cameroon and better coordinate it with comprehensive legislation. This is an advocacy that UNFPA has started,” says Noemie Dalmonte, Deputy Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). This UN agency supports the government in its efforts to combat GBV through prevention and risk reduction actions and activities.

Every week in Cameroon, there is a report of femicide, ritual killing, rape case, or any other form of violence resulting in the death of a woman or girl. “The situation is gruesome, given the recent news,” acknowledges Minproff, who also wishes to see specific legislation that will “severely punish” GBV perpetrators.

Pending the adoption of the law, Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa said new strategies will be swiftly put in place. The success of this approach requires the involvement of everyone, including communities, she said.

Source: Cameroon: Calls mount for Comprehensive Legislation to combat femicide

Political map of Cameroon