Mushumbi | Ritual Killing In Africa

Before starting to read the first article presented below, readers should prepare themselves that they’re going to read a weird story. The author recounts a number of murder cases including ritual murders (often committed in a far past, the oldest murder cited was committed nearly 60 years ago) with a dead victim fighting from the grave – hence the article’s title. You will better understand what this means once reading the article’s details.

However, in the first two paragraphs the author mentions the overall number of murder cases (reported, committed, solved, murder trials) committed in Zimbabwe in 2021, 2022 and 2023, specified by province.

According to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency at least 40 percent of the 3600 murder cases documented in 2022 were alleged ritual killings.(italics added by the webmaster FVDK).

If true (there is no reason to disbelieve the Statistics Agency but nevertheless I wonder whether there’s a typo here and I will verify the numbers reported) this means nearly 1500 ritual murder cases in 2022 alone!

A quick calculation points out that this means a monthly average of 120 ritually murdered victims, i.e. 4 ritual murders a day. This is very high given the overall population of Zimbabwe, about 16 million people, and it contrasts sharply with another statement of the author.

The author continues: “So widespread are incidents of ritual killing that in recent times barely a fortnight passes without the Zimbabwean media reporting on the heinous act in its various ghastly shades.” (bold letter added by the webmaster FVDK).

Nevertheless it seems safe and justified to conclude that the incidence of rituals murders is high in Zimbabwe even though the reported numbers need a thorough verification.

Be that as it may, a prudent estimate results in a about 300 ‘muti’ murders on a yearly basis, hence one every day – which is still a shocking number.

Concluding, the first article throws a particular light on the phenomenon of the belief in the supernatural in this Southern Africa country. In previous posts I’ve already included some of the ritualistic murder cases mentioned in the article. Some other murder cases are new. A very recent one is the suspected ritual murder of a three-year old girl in Guruve, Mashonaland Central Province. Caroline Makubhwakwa’s mutilated body, with some of the body parts missing, was discovered on January 25 after she got missing on January 17 (see the second article below).

Warning: the articles below contains graphic details which may upset some readers.
(webmaster FVDK)