South Africa: Limpopo courts to hear several cases including the 2006 muti murder of Ronnie Makgatho 

‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ but: the High Court in Polokwane will continue the trial of four businessmen and a woman who are suspected of killing Ronnie Makgatho for ritual purposes in 2006.

An amazing aspect of this murder case is that there is no dead body. The body of the victim, Ronnie Makgatho, was never found. Therefor it is to be seen if this trial wil end in a guilty verdict. How can you find someone guilty of murder when there’s no dead body?

Two of the five accused share the family name of the victim, Ronnie Makgatho. It is not uncommon that relatives are involved in ritualistic murders.

The first article presented below is silent on the background of the murder and also lacks many details. However, it seems obvious that this is a case of ‘muti’ murder, a ritualistic murder, based on superstition and motivated by greed.

The second article, published by Polokwane Weekly and shared on Facebook, contains more information. Warning: Some readers may find this story disturbing because of its explicit graphic content (webmaster FVDK).

Limpopo courts to hear several cases this week

High Court in Polokwane, LimpopoImage: Twitter@SECTION27news

Published:May 28, 2023
By:  Mahlatse Phaladi – SABC News

Several high-profile criminal cases will be heard in the High Court in Polokwane and other courts in Limpopo, starting from Monday.

(….)

(….)

Ritual killing

Another trial of four businessmen and a woman arrested for allegedly killing Ronnie Makgatho in 2006 will continue in the High Court in Polokwane.

The accused, Marcus Makgatho, Joshua Hlako, Hlako Mohafe, Khumbelo Mabirimisa and co-accused Amanda Makgatho allegedly killed Makgatho for ritual purposes.

Makgatho was reported missing in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria.

The remains of Makgatho were never found.

Source: Limpopo courts to hear several cases this week

More background information pertaining to this case:

EXCLUSIVE | HOW RONNY MAKGATHO WAS MURDERED

WARNING: NOT FOR SENSITIVE READERS

Published: May 12, 2022
By: Polokwane Weekly / Facebook

SESHEGO: A state witness in the murder case of Ronny Makgatho has detailed a chilling confession of the victim was killed.

The witness was testifying at the Seshego Magistrate’s Court during a bail application of the murder accused on Wednesday.

According to the witness, Marcus Makgatho traveled to Soshanguve Extension 4 where the victim was staying.

The witness says that Amanda Makgato alongside their accomplices forced the victim into the car and drove from Soshanguve to Seshego, where he was locked up in a shack.

The state witness said that Hlako and Makgato were both holding Ronnie Makgato’s hands and legs before he was brutally murdered for alleged business related rituals.

The witness has also told the court that the accused number 4 Khumbelo Mabirimisa was also present with an unknown woman.

He also told the court that the accused indicated that it was time to start with the job, before beginning with the murder process.

The witness said that Hlako said the victim should die a slow death when they were cutting him with a knife, so that they can get a lot of his blood. The witness also said that there were a bucket that was used to collect his blood.

The state witness also told the court that Ronnie Makgato’s body parts were cut by the accused.

The head was taken to Hlako’s Tarven, hands were taken to Makgato’s lodge. Other body parts were also taken to Hlako’s farm.

The court also heard that after taking the body parts of the victim to the accused’s businesses, the remaining part was buried at the same house.

The murder accused were all denied bail on Wednesday.

Source: EXCLUSIVE | HOW RONNY MAKGATHO WAS MURDERED

Also read: Muti murder confession sends police on wild goose chase
Published: April 28, 2022
By: Kamogelo Olaitan – Scrolla

Screenshot – excerpt from original article. Read the full article here

and:

‘Muthi’ killing, shallow grave, relative bust

It has emerged that Ronald Makgato, who went missing in 2006, was killed for muthi-related purpose.

Published: April 19, 2022
By: Daily Sun

THE Makgato family was left shocked when a family member and his friend were arrested on Wednesday, 13 April.

They were bust by Seshego cops in Limpopo for the kidnapping and murder of Ronald Makgato, who went missing 16 years ago.

Ronald (27) from Mamehlabe Village, Ga-Matlala disappeared in 2006 while staying in Soshanguve, Tshwane.

A witness tipped off his family and the police in 2020.

It’s believed that one of Ronald’s relatives and his friend allegedly killed the victim for muthi purposes, and they apparently buried his body in a shallow grave.

Ronald’s sister, Granny Makgato-Leboho, said it has been hard for the family not knowing their brother’s whereabouts. “When the police arrested my relative and his friend, we knew we were close to getting the truth about what happened to my brother.” 

She said the witness told them that Ronald was given a drug before he was taken to Zone 4 in Seshego, where he was murdered.

“We were told he was dismembered and his body parts were taken for muthi purposes. It’s so painful that my own relative saw it fit to kill his own for his evil intentions.”

Limpopo police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mamphaswa Seabi confirmed that two suspects, both aged 64, were bust and charged with kidnapping, conspiracy to commit murder and murder.

“They briefly appeared in the Seshego Magistrates Court last Thursday, and their matter was postponed to 28 April for formal bail application while the police investigations continues. The body of Ronald has not yet been recovered,” Seabi said.

Source: ‘Muthi’ killing, shallow grave, relative bust

Nigeria: on the rising incidents of ritual killings

I’ve repeatedly drawn attention to the many ritual murders, or killings for ritual purposes, in Nigeria, Africa’s most populated country with a population exceeding 200 million souls. These ritualistic crimes are locally known as ‘money rituals‘. (Warning: the preceding link leads to a video with graphic details of ritual killings).

The following post is about the published worries of an individual, Safiyanu Ladan. He was so emotional about the spate of ritual murders in his country that when the new year 2023 was approaching he decided to write an open article which was first published by a leading Nigerian newspaper, the Daily Trust.

Safiyanu Ladan writes from Zaria, Kaduna State, and openly associates ritualistic murders to prominent businessmen and politicians. In the article he dwells on a ritual murder committed by a prominent businessman in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara State, in the north of the country.

It’s a well-known fact that in Nigeria and other countries ritual murders and elections are linked, with the number of alleged and confirmed cases of ritual murder increasing during election campaigns. Nigeria faces national elections in February this year (next month) when the people of Nigeria go to the polls to elect a new president and National Assembly.
(webmaster FVDK).

On The Rising Incidents Of Ritual Killings

Published: January 3, 2023
By: Safiyanu Ladan – Daily Trust, Nigeria

I feel compelled to register my concern on the rising spate of killings across the country supposedly by ritualists as the 2023 elections draw closer. Some politicians who are desperate to win the election have always resorted to these uncanny acts in a bid to attain power at all costs. Unfortunately, the perpetrators of these […]

The post On the rising incidents of ritual killings
appeared first on Daily Trust

I feel compelled to register my concern on the rising spate of killings across the country supposedly by ritualists as the 2023 elections draw closer. Some politicians who are desperate to win the election have always resorted to these uncanny acts in a bid to attain power at all costs.

Unfortunately, the perpetrators of these devilish acts have always gone free. It’s only on rare occasions that some arrests are made and after the suspects are ceremoniously paraded by the police one will never hear about the case again.

In January last year, Aminu Baba, a prominent businessman selling vehicles at Aminchi Motors, Gusau Zamfara State, after his arrest by the police, confessed to have eaten and sold human parts to some unknown persons.

In a video footage, the visibly unapologetic Aminu’s accomplice who was arrested alongside him had admitted the gruesome killing of a 9-year-old boy whose body parts were removed and sold to Aminu for N500,000.

It has been one year since such an unfortunate incident occurred, and the suspects and the police have promised to take them to court at the end of their investigation. The outcome of the court’s judgment on this heinous act is not yet available in the public domain.

Incidents such as this are being reported by the media and after initial reactions, the matter will just die off.

The unrelenting act of ritualists inflicting harm on unsuspecting members of society is of great concern, hence the need for security agencies to double their efforts in order to restore people’s confidence.

It is pertinent to note that the life of a human being is sacred, and as such, nobody should feel threatened that their life might be taken away in whatever form except according to laid down processes.

Safiyanu Ladan wrote from Zaria via uncledoctor24@gmail.com

The post On the rising incidents of ritual killings appeared first on Daily Trust

Source: On The Rising Incidents Of Ritual Killings

Countless Centuries of Human Sacrifice

As stated elsewhere on this site, human sacrifices are of all ages and all places. In principle, this site focuses on ritualistic activities including killings and murders on the African continent but without pretending that these cruel and superstitious acts are only happening or being committed by Africans in African countries.

The article presented below amply illustrates the foregoing. It goes without saying that a topic such as ‘human sacrifices in historical perspective’ covers a vast area and cannot be treated in one short and simple article. Nevertheless, I have thought it useful and informative to include the following article on this site.

Warning: some readers may find the following text shocking because of its graphic contents.
(webmaster FVDK).

Countless Centuries of Human Sacrifice

Live Science recently published a list of 25 cultures that employed human sacrifice “from prehistory to the 21st century.”

Published: December 25, 2022
By: James A. Haught – ‘The Good Men Project’

In the history of religion, uncountable centuries of human sacrifice present a gory stunner.

It’s astounding that parents around the world sent their children and unwed daughters to be stabbed, burned, skinned, strangled, beheaded, drowned, crushed, clubbed or otherwise killed to please absurd gods and goddesses now known to be imaginary. Men – especially prisoners of war – also were sacrificed.

Live Science recently published a list of 25 cultures that employed human sacrifice “from prehistory to the 21stcentury.” It included China, the city of Ur (in today’s Iraq), Mound 72 near St. Louis, the Incas of Peru, the Mayas of Mexico, the Philistines of the Mideast, Aztecs of Mexico, ancient Egypt, Stonehenge, medieval Japan, Hawaii, early Romans, ancient Greeks, the Moche tribe of Peru, the Dahomey of Africa, Celts of Europe, Nazca of Peru, Vikings, Carthage, Mongols, hunter-gatherers of early Europe, the Indus Valley, ancient Korea, India, Tanzania.

Encyclopedia Britannica says:

“Sacrifice is not a phenomenon that can be reduced to rational terms; it is fundamentally a religious act that has been of profound significance to individuals and social groups throughout history, a symbolic act that establishes a relationship between man and the sacred order. For many peoples of the world, throughout time, sacrifice has been the very heart of their religious life.”

Here’s a section from my book, Holy Horrors, reprinted with permission from Prometheus Books and Rowman & Littlefield:

Over the centuries, sacrifice had many varieties. In ancient Phoenicia, boys were burned to satisfy Adonis and other gods – and the fall of Carthage was blamed on the faithlessness of nobles who substituted children of slaves for their own on the altars. In ancient Gaul, the Druids allegedly put victims into large wicker figures of men and set them afire. In Tibet, Bon shamans performed ritual killing. In Africa, the Ashanti offered about 100 victims each September to assure a good yam harvest. In Borneo, builders of pile-houses drove the first pile through the body of a maiden to satisfy the earth goddess.

The golden age of sacrifice came with the highly organized theocracies of Central America. After the Mayans amalgamated with fierce neighbor tribes in the 11th century, ritual killings proliferated to appease the plumed serpent Kukulcan (later called Quetzacoatl by the Aztecs) and sundry other gods. Maidens were drowned in sacred wells, and other victims were beheaded, shot with arrows, or had their hearts cut out.

In Peru, pre-Inca tribes killed children in “houses of the moon.” Beginning in the 1200s, the Incas built a complex theocracy dominated by priests who read daily magical signs and offered sacrifices to many gods. At major ceremonies, up to 200 children were burned as offerings. Mothers brought their darlings dressed in finery and flowers to be put to death. Special “chosen women” – comely virgins without blemish – sometimes were removed from their temple duties and strangled. Local rulers sent choice daughters to the capital at Cuzco as chosen women. Later they were sent back to be buried alive.

The ultimate murder religion was that of the Aztecs, which demanded about 20,000 victims per year. The chief deity was the sun, which might disappear, priests warned, without daily sustenance of hearts and blood. Multitudes of victims, mostly prisoners of war, were held on stone altars by clergy who ripped out their hearts with obsidian knives. Flesh from their arms was eaten ritually, and their skulls were preserved on racks holding as many as 10,000 heads. Raids called “wars of the flowers” were conducted to seize plentiful sacrifice candidates.

Priests also killed many Aztecs. Weeping children were sacrificed so that their tears might induce the rain god to water the crops. To please the maize goddess, dancing virgins were seized, decapitated, and skinned – and their skins were worn by priests in continued dancing.

In 1487, when the great Aztec temple in Tenochtitlan was dedicated, eight teams of priests worked four days sacrificing 20,000 prisoners, the entire manpower of three captured tribes….

In the Far East, five different types of human sacrifice were halted by British rulers in the 1800s. One was the yearly meriah by the Khonds of Bengal, who cut a victim into small pieces and buried the fragments in many fields to assure a good harvest. Another was a weekly rite by certain followers of the bloodthirsty Hindu goddess Kali who sacrificed a male child every Friday evening at a shrine in Tanjore, India.

A third was the Hindu code of suttee, which required a widow to leap onto her dead husband’s funeral pyre, willingly or unwillingly. The British banned it in 1829, but it persisted. (When Brahmans of Sind protested that suttee was their holy custom, Governor Charles Napier replied: “My nation also has a custom When men burn women alive, we hang them. Let us all act according to national customs.”)

In Burma, the Buddhist king moved the capital to Mandalay in 1854 and sanctified the new city walls by burying scores of “spotless” men alive in vats under the gates and bastions. In 1861, two of the vats were discovered to be empty – whereupon royal astrologers declared that 500 men, women, boys and girls must be killed and buried at once, or the capital must be abandoned. About 100 actually were buried before British authorities stopped the ceremonies.

The worst holy slaughter halted by the British was the infamous Thuggee strangling in India. For generations, certain secretive followers of Kali, the goddess of destruction, had been ritually dispatching an estimated 20,000 victims a year. The toll since the 1500s was estimated as high as two million. Thug theology held that Brahma the Creator produced lives faster than Shiva the Destroyer could end them, so Shiva’s wife Kali commanded believers to hunt humans and garrote them with sashes.

Thugs usually preyed upon travelers in unpopulated places. Victims were seized, strangled, ceremonially gashed, and buried, then the Thugs ate a ritual meal over the burial spot. (They also plundered the victim’s possessions – another motive for their religious fervor.) British officers finally broke Thuggee by ferreting out 3,689 cultists and hanging or imprisoning them, or branding them with “Thug” as a public warning. At a trial in 1840, one Thug was accused of strangling 931 people.

Other sacrifices lingered. In the 1800s an Ashanti king in Africa, wishing to make his new palace impregnable, sacrificed 200 girls and mixed their blood in the mortar of the walls. In 1838 a Pawnee American Indian girl was cut to pieces to fertilize newly sown crops. During the late 1800s, bodies of sacrificed children occasionally were found at Kali shrines in India.

***

Among those thousands of priests, I wonder if any realized that their gods were purely imaginary. Whether they did or not, their careers consisted of senseless, pointless, horrifying murder.

Source: Countless Centuries of Human Sacrifice

Bauchi State, Nigeria: police arrest 3 in connection with removing boy’s eyes for suspected ritual

Warning: The following may upset the reader because of its graphic contents.

Yesterday I posted an article on the cruel attack on a 3 year old baby boy who became blind for the rest of his life as a result of the unscrupulous act of his cousin who gouged out his eyes for ritualistic purposes. The gory and cruel crime happened in East Africa, in Kenya.

The case presented below happened in Nigeria, West Africa, in June of this year. A similar horror story as what happened in Kenya. The reader is warned that the article contains a graphic description of the crime. It’s good that police has arrested three suspects. Nevertheless, the question remains: what makes people do such cruel acts? Are these people insane or just unscrupulous in their unstoppable desire for wealth and/or power based on superstition and fed by witchdoctors?
(webmaster FVDK)

Nigeria, Bauchi State:
Police arrest 3 in connection with removing boy’s eyes for suspected ritual

Published: June 27, 2022
By: Paul Orude, The Sun, Nigeria

Three suspects have been arrested by the Bauchi State Command for allegedly gouging out the eyes of a boy.

The Commissioner of Police Umar Sanda, disclosed this while parading the suspects at the command’s headquarters in Bauchi.

Sanda reassured of the public of the Command’s commitment to bursting ritualists and other criminal activities and urged residents to be supportive.

He explained that the command has made adequate use of intelligence gathering to arrest the three suspects in connection with plucking out of the eye of the boy.

He said the arrest was in response to the case of a suspected ritualist who plucked the eye of the minor.

The terrifying incident occurred in the Jira Mountain Yelwa area of Bauchi Metropolitan.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Mohammed Wakil, the suspect Isaac Ezekiel ‘m’ 32yrs of Rafin Zurfi Yelwa Bauchi Metropolitan had been arrested, where he voluntarily confessed to the unfortunate crime.

A prompt search of his house by the Police led to the recovery of Uzairu Salisu’s eyeballs, Wakil disclosed in a statement.

Wakil said the exhibit recovered from the suspects included the two human eyeballs in a calabash,cable wire used in perpetrating the heinous act and a travelling bag containing some native medicine.

He said suspects arrested in connection to the crime are Isaac Ezekiel ‘M’ 32yr-old of Rafin Zurfi Yelwa Bauchi Metropolitan, Nensok Bawa ‘M’ 38yr-old of Kabwir District Kanke Local Government Area Plateau State and Yohana Luka (AKA Doctor Samu) 52yr-old of Golbong Village Amper District in Kanke Local Government Area of Plateau State.

“Findings reveal that in April 2022, Principal Suspect Isaac Ezekiel conspired with the two suspects above to conceive the idea to commit the atrocity of getting the eyeballs of a human being,” he said.

“On 24th June 2022 at about 0900hrs the principal suspect Isaac Ezekiel lured one Uzairu Salisu ‘M’ 16yr of Jahun Bauchi Metropolitan into a nearby Bush for a casual job on his farm, the Isaac Ezekiel used a cable wire to strangulate Uzairu Salisu into a coma and use a knife to remove the two eyes for a ritual purpose.

“Investigation is in progress, after which the suspects will be charged to court.

“The task has not been an easy one, but in line with our constitutional mandate, we shall remain fierce, tireless, and relentless in committing ourselves to the safety and security of lives and property of the people of Bauchi state and the country at large.”

Source: Bauchi: Police arrest 3 in connection with removing boy’s eyes for suspected ritual

Hunting for humans: Malawian albinos murdered for their bones (2016 article)

Yesterday’s posting inspired me to draw once more attention to the plight of people with albinism in the southern African country of Malawi. The CNN article which I present below dates from June 2016. Aljazeerah published a similar article in 2017 which I posted on June 15, 2022. In a way the CNN and the Aljazeerah articles are about the same though the latter is much more comprehensive and detailed.

Let the CNN article below speak for itself. It describes a horrendous and scandalous situation, a grim reality. I’ve said it too often on this site. All people have a right to live without fear, it’s a fundamental human right, and each state has an obligation to protect its citizens and to uphold the rule of law and hold perpetrators accountable for their misdeeds.

Warning: some people may find the following article shocking because of its graphic contents (webmaster FVDK).

Hunting for humans: Malawian albinos murdered for their bones

Screenshot – to view the video accompanying the original article please click here

Published: June 7, 2016
By: Dominique van Heerden – CNN

CNN — For Agness Jonathan, every day is a gamble with her children’s lives. 

Simple questions like whether they should go to school carry an unimaginable risk of death and dismemberment to satisfy a barbaric demand. 

This is because her daughters are living with albinism, a genetic condition resulting in little or no pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes. And this makes them a target.

Malawi’s albinos at risk of ‘total extinction’, U.N. warns

It is children like Agness’ who, according to a newly released Amnesty International report, are being hunted like animals in Malawi where their bones are sold in the belief the body parts bring wealth, happiness and good luck. 

The report chronicles the day-to-day lives of those living with the condition, and details the extent of a recent surge in killings of albinos living in the landlocked country in southern Africa.

The bloodiest month was April this year, when Amnesty says four people were murdered, including a baby.

One of the victims was 17-year-old Davis Fletcher Machinjiri, who left his home to watch a soccer game with a friend, but never returned. 

The Malawian police say he was abducted by “about four men who trafficked him to Mozambique and killed him.” Describing his gruesome death, they say “the men chopped off both his arms and legs and removed bones. They then buried the rest of his body in a shallow grave.”

‘We are killed, we are hunted’: Albino activist fights witchcraft

Selling body parts

Since 2014 at least 18 albinos have been killed, another five have been abducted and are still missing.

And if it weren’t for alert locals, Agness’ youngest daughter Chakuputsa would be one of them.

She was grabbed by three men while her mother was out working the fields. Agness describes how villagers chased after the men who eventually dumped the child in the bushes nearby. It turned out one of the attackers was a relative, someone, Agness tells Amnesty, she had considered like a brother. This, the community says, is all too common.

Attackers are known to sell body parts to witchdoctors in Malawi and neighboring Mozambique, hoping to make quick money.

Amnesty says “thousands of people with albinism are at severe risk of abduction and killing by individuals and criminal gangs,” while the United Nations warns that Malawi’s albinos are at risk of “total extinction.”

Grace Mazzah, a board member of the Association of People with Albinism in Malawi, is always aware of the price on her head. 

These children were confined to a voodoo convent

“It really raises fear,” she says. “Why should people hunt me like they’re hunting for animals to eat?”

Source: Hunting for humans: Malawian albinos murdered for their bones

Malawi continues to be unsafe for people with albinism – another murder of an albino child

Warning: some readers may find this story disturbing because of its detailed and explicit description of a crime.

On many occasions I have drawn attention here on the violence against people with albinisme in Malawi. See mee previous posts (using the dropdown menu in the heading under ‘African countries’, or you my click here). On November 30 another murder of an albino girl, Tadala Chirwa, only three years old, was committed for the sole purposes of using her body parts for rituals linked to the delusion that this would bring luck or good health to the delinquent perpetrator. The incident happened in Mawawa, in the center of the country. The brutal crime followed the abduction of another albino child in Phalombe township, in the south of the country, on November 19. And, reportedly, in October, unknown persons exhumed the grave of an albino person in order to amputate the arms and legs of the corpse.

When will it end? When will Malawi be a safe place for all Malawians?

The government of Lazarus Chakwera, president since 2020 and leader of the Malawi Congress Party is urged to ensure safety to all Malawians including people with albinism and investigate all violence against them and bring perpetrators of crimes against people with albinism without any hesitation to the country’s courts where the accused will be impartially tried and punished for their crimes after being found guilty in a transparant public trial.

As long as this is not the case, Malawi cannot be called a country where the rule of law is being applied (webmaster FVDK).

Amnesty International denounces ritual murder of three-year-old albino girl in Malawi

Child with albinism attends school in Machinga, Malawi. –
JOSEPH MIZERE / XINHUA NEWS / CONTACTOPHOTO – Provided by News 360

Published: December 2, 2022
By: Daniel Stewart – News 360

Amnesty International on Friday denounced the brutal murder in Malawi of a three-year-old albino girl whose arm was amputated postmortem in the false belief that the limbs of people with this skin discoloration possess “magical properties.”

“We find the horrific nature of Tadala Chirwa’s death deeply disturbing,” said Amnesty’s Southern Africa campaigner Vongai Chikwanda.

The murder occurred on November 30 in Mawawa, in the center of the country, when an unidentified man entered the home of the girl’s grandmother, where she was sleeping, and stabbed her to death in the neck before amputating her arm, which he took with him.

According to information available to the NGO, the person responsible for the crime has not yet been arrested.

Amnesty also sees signs of a new pattern of crimes against the country’s albino population following the November 19 abduction of a two-year-old boy in Phalombe township in the south of the country.

In October, unknown persons exhumed the grave of the mortal remains of an albino person in order to amputate the arms and legs of the corpse.

“The authorities,” calls Amnesty International, “must also take urgent action to ensure the safety of people with albinism in Malawi, investigate all previous attacks and provide justice for the victims and their families.”

Source: Amnesty International denounces ritual murder of three-year-old albino girl in Malawi

Also:

Albino toddler, 3, murdered in her bed and leg cut off for ‘lucky charm’ by sick intruder

Former President for the Association of People with Albinism in Malawi, Overstone Kondowe (Image: Getty Images )

Published: December 3, 2022
By: Sean Meleady – Express, UK

Little Tadala Chirwa was murdered in her grandmother’s house with the intruder stealing her severed leg in a disturbing pattern of killings driven by a bizarre belief that albino body parts bring wealth.

A killer mudered an albino toddler in her bed then cut off her leg for good luck. Tadala Chirwa, three, was sleeping at her grandmother’s house when the intruder broke in to carry out the sick crime just before midnight on Wednesday. She was snatched from the bed she was sharing with her grandmother in the village of Mawawa. The “shocking” murder in central Malawi is believed to have been driven by a belief that the body parts of people with albinism guarantee good fortune. It comes just weeks after the attempted abduction of a two-year old albino boy in the Phalombe district. 

The incident on 19 November involved three masked assailants attempting to break into a home where a toddler was asleep with his mother and a sibling. However, the mother managed to get her family to safety.

The human rights organization Amnesty International has urged the Malawian authorities to improve the protection of people in the east African country following the death of the infant.

Vongai Chikwanda, Amnesty International’s Campaigner for Southern Africa, said: “The horrific nature of the death of Tadala Chirwa is deeply shocking and a cause of great concern.

“This killing and the removal of a limb is consistent with past patterns on attacks on persons with albinism, which are driven by the false belief that their body parts bring wealth and good luck.

A 23 year old Malawi albino women pictured in 2015 (Image: Getty Images )
An Albino child pictured in Nkole, Machinga district (Image: Getty Images )

“Authorities must promptly and thoroughly investigate the killing of Tadala Chirwa and ensure that those suspected of responsibility are brought to justice in fair trials.

“The authorities must also take urgent steps to guarantee the safety and security of persons with albinism in Malawi, including by investigating all past attacks and delivering justice for victims and their families.”

Albino musician

Source: Albino toddler, 3, murdered in her bed and leg cut off for ‘lucky charm’ by sick intruder

Nigerian kills Nigerian girlfriend in Ghana for money ritual

Nigeria is Africa’s most populated country. With a population estimated at over 200 million people it is not surprising that Nigeria ranks high in the list of countries where people are murdered for ritualistic reasons or in a ritual way, including the performance of rituals believed to bring or enhance political power, economic or financial wealth, good health to the perpetrator(s) and/or conspirator(s). It is my estimation that Nigeria is Number One on the African continent when it comes to ritualistic murders, locally referred to as ‘money rituals’.

Not all ritual murders are discovered whereas not all murders which seem to be ritual murders are true ritual murders. Perpetrators may hide traces or create circumstances intended to mislead investigators. Hence we have to be always careful when reading about reported cases of ritual murders.

That being said, a case is being reported of a Nigerian residing in Ghana who killed his girlfriend for ‘money ritual’. Read the following report.

Warning: Some people may find the following story and/or the video disturbing because of the explicit contents (webmaster FVDK).

Nigerian kills Nigerian girlfriend in Ghana for money ritual

..Any Nigerian that commits a crime in any country, the law of the land should take its course, says NiDCOM

Published: November 30, 2022
By: Per Second News

In his desperate get-rich-quick bid, a Nigerian, whose identity is still unknown,  has killed his girlfriend, a Nigerian, in Accra, Ghana.

According to reports, the “lover boy” beheaded the girl at Spintex, Accra, the  Ghanian capital, to use her body parts for money ritual.

Just before dismembering her body, Police on a tip-off, swooped on the house and arrested the man, a report reaching Persecondnews said.

A video of his arrest which also showed the moment the corpse of the girl was recovered by the police, was shared on Facebook by a user identified as Smile Baba.

He had commented: “Very sad development this afternoon. I have just arrived from a crime scene here in Accra, Ghana, where a Nigerian young man beheaded his Nigerian girlfriend in Spintex, Accra, Ghana.

“My question is, who actually lies to these young boys and girls that money rituals truly exist?

“Ladies, you have to be careful of who you trust; it doesn’t matter how calm the man looks. Just be careful.”

Contacted for his comment, the spokesman for the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Mr Abdur-Rahmam Balogun, said: “Our stand is that any Nigerian that commits a crime, let the law of the land take its course.

“The Nigerian government has no role to play in such instance. If you go to another man’s land and commit a crime, the law of the land will always take its course.

“So, we always advise Nigerians to be good ambassadors wherever they find themselves. I have not watched the video and we have not been petitioned.”

Source: Nigerian kills Nigerian girlfriend in Ghana for money ritual

Also:

Nigerian man allegedly beheads his girlfriend in Ghana  – YouTube

Kayunga District, Uganda: two get 40 years in jail over ‘child sacrifice’

On November 13 I posted on this website a report on the notoriety of Kayunga District in Uganda when it comes to child sacrifices and ritualistic murders. In this posting I mentioned the case of Allan Ssembatya – then a six-year old small boy – who was cut with a machete and left fighting for his life in a forest. The offence was committed in Busolo Village, Kayunga District, in 2009. Luckily, Allan was found alive. Two men were arrested for attempted murder; recently they were sentenced to 40 years in prison. Both Allan Ssembatya and the the convicts, Awali Kivumbi and Paul Ngaswireki (see photo), were residents of Busolo in Kayunga Sub-county, Kayunga District.

Thirteen years after the incident took place justice was delivered. Hail to the Uganda judicial system! Nevertheless the foregoing, ‘prevention is better than cure’: all efforts should be made to prevent these crimes through proper education and the eradication of superstition.
(webmaster VDK)

Warning: some readers may find the following report disturbing.

Two get 40 years in jail over ‘child sacrifice’

Awali Kivumbi (left) and Oaul Ngaswireki (right) during the court hearing. PHOTO | FRED MUZAALE

Published: September 20, 2022
By: Fred Muzaale – Monitor, Uganda

Court has sentenced two men to 40 years imprisonment each after they were found guilty of attempting to behead a six-year-old boy for ritual sacrifice.

Chief Magistrate Sarah Tusiime yesterday sentenced Paul Ngaswireki and Awali Kivumbi, after evidence linked them to attempting to murder Allan Ssembatya who was cut with a panga (machete) and left fighting for his life in a forest. 

He was only discovered by his grandparents while in a coma.

“In light of the above evidence, submissions and the law, the prosecution has provided its case beyond a reasonable doubt that A1 and A2 are guilty of the offense of attempted murder of Ssembatya Allan contrary to Section 204 of the Penal Code Act,” held magistrate Tusiime.

The prosecution led by Mr Edward Muhumuza states that the offence was committed in 2009 in Busolo Village.

Ssembatya is now 19 years and in Senior One.

At the time of the incident, Ssembatya was six years old and in Primary Two at Busaale Church of Uganda Primary School, Kayunga. 

In her ruling, the magistrate held that the conduct of the two convicts before, during and after the commission of the act was wanting.

The magistrates explained that Kivumbi, had been a good neighbour and even visited Ssembatya’s family quite often in hospital.

“It makes one believe that the frequent visits by A2 (Kivumbi) were to monitor the health of the victim or to conceal their participation. Such conduct is enough to prove that indeed there was malice aforethought,” held Ms Tusiime.

The magistrate also observed that the body parts damaged were the neck, head, skull, shoulder and testis.

The victim and the convicts were all residents of Busolo in Kayunga Sub-county, Kayunga District.

The convict was in their first trial acquitted for lack of evidence. However, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) appealed, leading to yesterday’s verdict.

Present at court were the father of the victim and a number of anti-child sacrifice activists from Kyampisi Childcare Ministries, a non-governmental organisation.

The magistrate branded the case as purely one for “child sacrifice”.

Both convicts asked for lighter sentences.

“I have 12 children and two wives and I was their breadwinner. I now don’t know what my family is up to,” Kivumbi said.

Mr Peter Sewakiryanga, the executive director of Kyampisi Childcare Ministries, said he had relocated Ssembatya’s family for their safety.

“My belief is that now we have a precedence that, however long it takes to get justice, when there is will by the community, justice can be delivered,” Mr Sewakiryanga said.

Source: Two get 40 years in jail over ‘child sacrifice’

Two chilling stories from Nigeria

I’ve repeatedly stated here that the number of ritual killings in Nigeria is too high to include all on this site. Yet for research purposes I try to keep up with the numerous reports on suspected and confirmed ritual murder cases, locally often referred to as ‘money rituals’.

Today two articles crossed my path which I do not withhold the followers of this site. The first article concerns the discovery of a corpse with vital organs missing in Plateau State, hence a case of suspected ritual killing. The second case within two months as mentioned in the article. The second story reports the arrest of a ‘Yahoo boy’, caught with human parts, and a herbalist, in Delta state. I leave the conclusion to the imagination of the reader.
(webmaster FVDK)

Warning: Some readers may find the following disturbing

First article

Ritual Killing: Another Corpse Recovered In Plateau Village, Vital Organs Missing

Published: November 13, 2022
By: Ado Abubakar Musa, Jos – Daily Trust, Nigeria

The corpse of a 24-year-old identified as Ealdi Marcus has been recovered in the outskirt of Babale community of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau. The body of the deceased which was dumped in the bush was discovered on Friday afternoon with his vital organs removed.

The Plateau State Police Command confirmed the incident to Daily Trust, saying that efforts were being made to arrest the perpetrators of the crime.

Our correspondent reports that the killing of Marcus is coming barely two months after a 14-year-old, Maryam Salisu was murdered in cold blood on the outskirts of the Babale village with her vital organs also removed.

According to a resident of the community, Marcus disappeared last Saturday, and all efforts to know his whereabouts were unsuccessful until Friday afternoon when his corpse was found in the nearby bush.

Blues Samuel Bulus, commander of the neighbourhood watch in Babale, explained how the corpse was found in the bush saying, “We saw some people whose movement suggested all was not well and when we asked, they told us that they were searching for their brother who disappeared on Saturday.

“Before they came to us, we were already told that a corpse was discovered in the bush. We told them to go and confirm if the said corpse was that of their missing brother and on getting there, they discovered that it was actually the body of their missing brother.”

Nafiu Idris, a commander of hunters in the community expressed worry over the incident and called on the government to do the needful to ensure the security of the area.

He said, “We are really worried. This is the second murder in a few months and people would just be killed for nothing. We are calling on the government to come to our aid.”

Source: Ritual Killing: Another Corpse Recovered In Plateau Village, Vital Organs Missing

Second article:

Delta herbalist, ‘Yahoo boy’ caught with human parts

Published: November 13, 2022
By: Deji Lambo – Punch, Nigeria

A yet-to-be-identified suspected fraudster, alongside his herbalist, one Ike, aka Ogenesu, have been arrested after policemen attached to the Obiaruku Police Station recovered suspected human parts at the herbalist’s place in Obiaruku, in the Ukwuani Local Government Area of Delta State.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the fraudster was driving to a destination in Obiaruku around 5.20pm on Friday, October 28, when five policemen, who were on a stop-and-search duty, flagged down his vehicle.

Instead of parking, the suspect zoomed off, as the policemen, who became suspicious of his action, gave him a hot chase and caught up with him.

A resident, who asked not to be identified for security reasons, said the policemen, while searching the vehicle, found a note specifying the need for human parts.

“The instruction on the note was that the man should provide a human head, hand and leg. After recovering the note, the policemen asked what he wanted to use the specified items for and out of fear, he said it was for something.

“So, the policemen embarked on full investigation by visiting the Obiaruku Police Station to obtain a warrant to search his three-bedroom flat and while searching his house, they obtained another written note requesting the same items in the first written note that was found in his car,” the resident added.

The source said after the policemen found the notes, they detained the suspect and during interrogation, he said Ike requested the human parts.

He explained that the next day, the suspect led policemen to the herbalist’s place, and while searching the premises, a decomposing corpse was found beside a fish pond.

“The herbalist used nylon to cover the corpse and since the corpse was close to the fish pond, nobody perceived the smell because of the odour around the fish pond.

“The policemen took the Yahoo boy and the herbalist to the station and they were transferred to the state command for further investigation,” the source added.

A video clip in possession of our correspondent showed the herbalist unwrapping a sack containing the bones of a corpse.

A human skull was also seen beside the sack in the midst of policemen questioning him over the incident.

In his defence, Ike was heard saying, “It was my child that was buried; I dug the grave and removed the corpse from where it was buried.”

The state police spokesperson, Bright Edafe, did not take his calls and had yet to respond to a text message sent to his mobile phone as of the time this report was filed.

Source: Delta herbalist, ‘Yahoo boy’ caught with human parts

Liberia: man found dead “with body parts missing” in Grand Kru County

Warning: graphic image

Liberia constitutes another never ending story as far as ritual killings are concerned. The reported ritual murder case below is shocking but, unfortunately, has a strong ‘seen before’ character.

The killing of Worteh Koffa is another murder in the southeastern part of Liberia, notorious for its ritualistic murders. The article below elaborates on these cases including Liberia’s most notorious ritual murder case which led to the arrest and subsequent conviction and sentencing – ‘death by hanging’ – of seven convicted rituals murderers, among whom two so-called ‘big shots’, the Superintendent of Maryland County, James Daniel Andersen (the personal representative of then Present Tolbert in this part of the country) , and the representative of Maryland County in the House of Representatives, Allen Yancy.
(webmaster FVDK)

Liberia: Gruesome Murder in Grand Kru County

Published: May 3, 2022
By: Leroy M. Sonpon, III – Daily Observer

A man in his late 20s, named Worteh Koffa, has been found dead “with body parts missing” in Grand Kru County. 

The deceased, according to a 15-man coroner jury in Grand Kru County died as a result of ritualistic killing.  The coroner jury reported that the late Worteh’s eyes, tongue, fingers and toenails, and other body parts were missing upon discovery of his body in early April  2022 on the beach in Grandcess City, Grand Kru County District #1.

Worteh’s death comes just a year after a 23-years old motorcyclist named Mordecail Nyemah for ritualistic purposes in Maryland County, which is a southeastern county like Grand Kru. The deceased was discovered dead with his right eye plugged, and right fingers cut off in Pleebo during the morning hours of March 25, 2021, and it triggered a wave of violent riot both in Pleebo and the Maryland County’s capital, Harper.

Suspect Moses Mlamah said in a video interview that he was sent by a man identified as Daniel Wesseh to get blood for reasons and was paid to do so. He added that he enlisted the help of two others to carry out the act. The issue about ritualistic killings in the southeast is not anything strange with Maryland County seeing a  series of ritualistic murders that occurred around Harper, in the 1970s.

Between 1965 and 1977 over 100 murders occurred in Maryland County, many of which were considered ritualistic due to the mutilation and removal of body parts. During the 1970s, Liberians in Maryland County were constantly under the threat of ritual murders. Between November 1976 and July 1977, 14 people had disappeared in the county prompting Liberian president William Tolbert to fire Superintendent of Maryland County, James Daniel Anderson, who failed to report the missing people. Tolbert publicly declared “Anyone who kills deliberately: The law will kill that person.”

These murders went unreported and uninvestigated until the murder of a local fisherman and popular singer, Moses Tweh. Tweh was abducted on June 26, 1977. His body was discovered on July 4, 1977, heavily mutilated with his eyes, ears, nose, tongue and penis removed. Prior to the discovery of Tweh’s body, Wreh Taryonnoh, the girlfriend of Assistant Supervisor of Schools, Francis Nyepan, was allegedly heard by a group searching for Tweh saying that “if they would be so lucky to find him, only his bones they might see”. This sparked the arrest of 12 people, a majority of whom were government officials.

During the first Harper Trial, Joshua Brown and Teah Toby were released and later became state witnesses. The other ten defendants were found guilty and sentenced to public execution by hanging. Tagbedi Wisseh appealed his conviction and was pardoned by Tolbert before execution. Wonplu Boye and Koti Weah both died before execution, it was rumored their own family members poisoned them to avoid shame.

On 16 February 1979, the seven remaining people convicted of Moses Tweh’s murder were publicly hanged at dawn in Harper. The media dubbed them the “Harper Seven” The crimes back then were regarded as “Liberia’s most notorious ritual killing case” due to the number of murders, the involvement of high ranking government officials and their subsequent public executions.

Meanwhile, up to press time, the Liberian National Police Detachment in Grand Kru County is still tightlipped on the investigation of Worteh’s death.

Worteh’s mother has therefore called on the government to probe the mysterious death of her son as “her family remains peaceful and awaits the outcome of any investigation.   His death has caused fear among youths in the county and there appears to be a self-imposed curfew among residents of the area, fearing for their own safety.

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker and Acting Chairman of the Grand Kru County Legislative Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa, on has condemned the gruesome and ritualistic murder of Worteh Koffa and called on the Minister of Justice to put more resources into the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators.

On his Facebook page, the Grand Kru County District #2 lawmaker noted that: “We condemn in the strongest terms the gruesome and ritualistic murder of young Worteh Koffa. I have placed a call to the Minister of Justice to put more resources in the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators.”

Cllr. Koffa added: “The age-old practice of ritualistic killings, for whatever purpose, must end. I call on the peaceful citizens of Grandcess to remain calm and law-abiding and assist in the investigation. No young person should have his promising life taken away by nefarious and heartless creatures. I call for a swift and speedy investigation.”

Source: Liberia: Gruesome Murder in Grand Kru County