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Published: November 12, 2026
By: La Republica
Attention: translated by AI
Mozambique: the abduction and murder of a 15-year-old boy subjected to macabre witchcraft rituals
The account from the Community of Sant’Egidio: Juvêncio went missing three days ago along with a young friend of his, Ilton, aged 12, whose whereabouts are still unknown. After Juvêncio was killed, his eyes and tongue were torn out
ROME – There is now great concern for 12-year-old Ilton, who was abducted along with his friend Juvêncio a few days ago; Juvêncio was found dead on Monday morning along the banks of the Rio Matola, on the outskirts of Maputo. Juvêncio was 15 years old; he had gone missing on Saturday 8 November together with his younger friend Ilton, aged 12. Along with 600 others, they were taking part in a prayer service at the Matola Nutrition Centre.
They gouged out his eyes and cut out his tongue as part of a witchcraft ritual. The fishermen who found the young man were met with a gruesome sight: Juvêncio’s eyes and tongue had been gouged out, almost certainly during a witchcraft ritual. This account comes from Father Rolando Curzi, a priest of the Community of Sant’Egidio and rector of the Church of St John Paul II in Maputo, who is still in shock, along with the many children and teenagers at the School of Peace, which Juvêncio and Ilton attended.
Their parents had gone to look for them because they had not come home for lunch. “They never missed a Saturday morning,” recalls Father Rolando. “In fact, when their parents came looking for them because they had not come home for lunch, we immediately became suspicious and advised them to contact the authorities to launch a search.” The two boys, from poor families who had migrated to the capital from a rural area of Mozambique, also attended the Community Nutrition Centre in Matola, which provides nutritious meals to 500 children every day.
The abductions of children, whose organs are used in macabre rituals. In Mozambique, a country still reeling from violence and jihadist attacks in the north, the abduction of children – whose organs are used in macabre witchcraft rituals – is not uncommon. The Community of Sant’Egidio, which mediated the peace talks leading to the General Peace Agreement signed in Rome on 4 October 1992, has been present in Mozambique since the 1980s and promotes a culture of peace and respect for life through educational activities in schools and villages, as well as through the widespread presence of the Schools of Peace and the Youth for Peace movement. This afternoon, at the Matola Nutrition Centre, around 600 people gathered around the families of the two young men, taking part with great emotion in a prayer in memory of Juvêncio and imploring for Ilton’s life to be spared.
Where resentment and powerlessness give rise to sorcerers and wizards. Where resentment and a sense of powerlessness accumulate, as in Mozambique, it is inevitable that beliefs will take root that negative events, illnesses, misfortunes and injustices are caused by acts of witchcraft. Consequently, tensions and episodes of violence or persecution are common against people who, for various reasons, come under suspicion of being responsible for all the evil around them. Beliefs linked to magic, witchcraft (known as “feitiçaria” in Portuguese) and the worship of ancestors are deeply rooted in daily life and are often accompanied by collective spiritual gatherings amongst both Christians and Muslims.
Widespread and deep-seated anger. Mozambique is brimming with natural resources from which the local population has never derived the slightest economic benefit, despite the massive international investments made by the extractive industries. All this has led to widespread tensions and anger which, in the province of Cabo Delgado, have erupted in the form of jihadism. As is often the case, particularly when Islamists also become useful tools for protecting the plundering of resources by foreign forces or for furthering the territorial expansionist ambitions of neighbouring countries.
Source: Mozambique: the abduction and murder of a 15-year-old boy subjected to macabre witchcraft rituals
