Category Archives: Ouagadougou

Burkina Faso: Three-year old child murdered in Ouagadougou – Mob justice leads to death of two suspected ritual murderers

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Reports on ritual murders in Burkina Faso are scarce but this does not imply that this West African country is spared these gruesome crimes. In the past I’ve posted a few articles on the grim fate of persons with albinism in this country and on the belief in witchcraft and superstition in this landlocked country in the Sahel zone of the African continent.

On April 1 a gruesome crime took place in the capital Ouagadougou, in the neighborhood of Rayongo. A three-year old boy, David Ouédraogo, was unscrupulously murdered; it all looked like a ritual murder. The angry crowd attacked and killed two suspects, allegedly foreigners, a third suspect had more luck and was handed over to the police.

The mother of David, Sarata Ouédraogo, a woman in her thirties, is devastated and beyond consolation. She shares her ordeal with a reporter of Omega Medias – clicking the following link will give access to her sad story.
(FVDK)

Screenshot – Sarata Ouédraogo, mother of David, tells her story – to listen to her click here (in French)

Meurtre d’un enfant de 3 ans à Rayongo : Sur la piste d’un crime rituel

Three-year old child murdered in Rayongo-Ouagadougou – mob justice leads to death of two of three suspected ritual murderers

Published: April 4, 2024
By: Charles Dah – Omega Medias, Burkina Faso

Les habitants de rayongo, quartier de la ville de Ouagadougou ont été frappés de stupeur ce lundi 1er avril 2024. La cause, un enfant de 3 ans a été violemment tué. Ses bourreaux seraient trois hommes de nationalité étrangère dont le comportement suspect a attiré l’attention des habitants du quartier. Courroucés, ces derniers finiront par lyncher à mort deux des trois suspects, le troisième quant à lui a été remis aux forces de l’ordre. L’émotion était toujours vive à notre passage, trois jours après le drame et la mère demeure inconsolable.

72 heures après la survenue de l’indicible fait macabre, nous voici sur les lieux du drame. Assis sous un dattier, un groupuscule d’hommes devise à deux pas du domicile familial des Ouedraogo. Touchée par la perte d’un des leurs, un enfant de 3 ans, la famille reçoit les condoléances des habitants du quartier et de ceux venus d’ailleurs. Sur place, l’émotion est vive.

Un peu plus loin, à l’intérieur de la cour, des femmes sont installées. Sur leurs visages se lisent stupeur et désarroi. Par moments, des sanglots montent du groupe, des pleurs dûs à la douleur de la perte brutale et violente du petit David, égorgé par ses bourreaux.

Après échange avec la famille, l’on nous conduit sur la scène du crime située à deux cents mètres du domicile des Ouédraogo.

Sur place, une odeur fétide flotte dans l’air. A l’intérieur de la maison où l’enfant a été tué, du sang, depuis coagulé, recueilli dans des calebasses et des Canaris.
C’est un décor macabre qui a tout d’un crime rituel digne des films d’horreur les plus glaçants. Tout porte à croire que ce sang contenu dans les calebasses est celui de la victime, l’enfant de 3 ans.

Encore effondrée, Sarata Ouédraogo, mère du petit David, la trentaine révolue, yeux rouges, est assise au milieu d’un groupe de dames sur une natte. Visiblement affaiblie par la triste nouvelle, elle s’appuie contre un mur de la maison pour se tenir debout afin de nous expliquer son calvaire. C’est une mère abattue, que nous avons rencontrée ce mercredi 3 avril.
Elle n’arrive toujours pas à croire comment des personnes qui vivaient dans la même cour qu’elle aient pu commettre un acte aussi ignoble, égorger son enfant.
<< Est-ce qu’ils peuvent me faire ça ? On est dans la même maison, c’est moi-même qui prépare et puis vous mangez. Tout ce qu’ils veulent, ils viennent me demander et je leur donne. Jusqu’à ce qu’ils m’appellent maman.>> nous relate la jeune mère entre deux sanglots.

Dame Ouédraogo a été séparée de son fils à jamais. De terribles adieux que la famille Ouédraogo et les habitants du quartier Rayongo digèrent difficilement.

Les faits remontent au lundi 1er avril. En partance au marché la mère de David le laisse à la maison sous la surveillance de la grande sœur de ce dernier. A son retour du marché, plus de David. Malgré de rapides recherches dans le voisinage, pas de nouvelles. Sarata Ouedraogo va questionner un de ses voisins de nationalité étrangère pour savoir s’il a aperçu l’enfant, l’homme lui répond que l’enfant était avec lui il y a à peine 3 minutes. Une réponse qui va semer un doute profond.

Comble de la malice, ledit voisin va même rejoindre un groupe d’habitants, pour poursuivre les recherches, avec probablement pour objectif de donner du temps à ses acolytes pour se débarrasser du corps de l’enfant.
Mais, l’instinct maternel de dame Ouedraogo fini par prendre le dessus. Elle lance au voisin<< Mon enfant est ici (dans la maison du voisin, NDLR). Mon enfant n’est pas ailleurs. Mon enfant est ici. (…) Moi-même je sens que l’enfant est ici.(…) Ce que je sais seulement, c’est que mon enfant est toujours dans cette maison >>. Sarata Ouedraogo nous explique avoir insisté et persisté. Puis elle décide de faire le pied de grue devant la porte de ceux qu’elle soupçonne être à l’origine de la disparition du petit David.

Pendant ce temps, la mobilisation des habitants pour retrouver l’enfant prend de l’ampleur.
Il faudra attendre vers 22h, pour enfin savoir ce qui s’est passé et cela grâce à la contribution d’un homme de tenue arrivé sur place.

<< Quand ils (les habitants du quartier, NDLR) sont partis maintenant, il (le voisin présumé coupable, NDLR) voulait fuir. Le gars (l’homme de tenue, Ndlr) est tourné derrière (à l’arrière de la maison, Ndlr). Il voit quelque chose qui est attaché déposé. Il a voulu soulever, c’est lourd. Djahh c’est mon enfant qui est dedans.>> Ajoute Sarata qui s’effondre en larmes avant de poursuivre <<C’est déjà gâté. Ils ont déjà tué l’enfant.>>.

Les présumés auteurs du crime rituel seront lynchés sur le champ par une foule en colère seul l’un des trois sera remis aux forces de l’ordre arrivées plus tard sur les lieux.

<< C’est une grande tristesse pour nous les membres de la famille. Même si tu es étranger à l’enfant, être témoin de ce drame et tu n’es attristé, tu auras menti.(…) Moi quand j’étais arrivé sur les lieux du drame, j’étais dépassé, car tu mets au monde un enfant et l’élève jusqu’à cet âge et quelqu’un l’egorge comme un poulet, vraiment c’est une perte, une énorme perte>> lâche Sambo Ouedraogo, oncle de la victime.

Le corps sans vie du petit David, ceux de deux des présumés auteurs du meurtre et leur complice rescapé ont été amenés par les forces de l’ordre après les constatations d’usage.

La mère du petit David, en état de choc reste inconsolable. A Rayongo, les habitants sont eux, toujours plongés dans la stupeur.

Ibrahim Niaoné & Abdoul Aziz Zoulabou

Source: Meurtre d’un enfant de 3 ans à Rayongo : Sur la piste d’un crime rituel

Burkina Faso: traditional spiritual rituals providing protection

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The belief in supernatural powers is an important driving force behind ritual murders. Yet there exists another area in which the belief in supernatural powers is crucial. The following two articles focus on traditional spiritual practices which provide protection against violence and aggression to its believers and users.

The objective of including these articles here is to offer the reader insight into the cultural side of spiritual practices and rituals. After all, is is easy – and absolutely warranted from various points of view – to condemn ritual murders, but in order to fight effectively these crimes which constitute gross human rights violations we must understand the minds of the perpetrators of these intolerable and outdated crimes.

For this reason I found it justified to include the following two articles. To avoid any misunderstanding: the ritual practices described below have nothing to do with ritual murders.
(webmaster FVDK).

Burkina Faso fighters seek protection with spiritual rituals

Published: April 29, 2021
By: Star Tribune, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Minnesota, Associated Press – Sam Mednick

OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso — Antoine Ouedraogo didn’t run when Islamic extremist fighters killed his colleagues only feet away from him in northern Burkina Faso. Instead, the 53-year-old says, he simply recited a secret word and became invisible.

The father of 17, who used to arrest bandits and now fights the extremists as part of a local defense militia, says a secret medicine he took as a child continues to protect him from bullets and machetes.

“As adults, we still have that medicine inside of us,” he said. “Even now if something happens, I can disappear.”

Fighters like Ouedraogo are putting their faith in these traditional spiritual practices to protect them as attacks linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State ravage the West African nation, killing thousands and displacing more than 1 million people. The deeply rooted tradition holds that plants, animals and ritual objects mixed with verses from holy texts can provide protection before going to battle.

“Before someone faces a challenge, they know there are supernatural powers and spirits they can call upon in any situation,” said Jean Celestin Ky, professor of history at Joseph Ki-Zerbo University in Ouagadougou.

People have believed in these powers since the beginning of time and it remains strong in Burkina Faso because it’s been passed down from generations, he said.

Some people say the practice is rooted in animism, the belief that all things, from rocks and trees to animals and places, have a spirit. Approximately 15% of Burkina Faso’s population identify as animists, according to a report from the International Crisis Group, which says the belief holds considerable weight in the majority-Muslim country.

However, cultural anthropologists say regardless of the origins, what the rituals speak to is human nature when faced with violence.

“These fighters are taking incredible risks, often risks that they don’t understand and can’t control and that it’s hard to imagine anybody in that position who doesn’t rely on a really complicated set of belief systems and sometimes magical thinking in order to stay safe and understand their place in the world,” said Danny Hoffman, chair of the African Studies Program at the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, who researched fighters using spiritual protections during the civil war in Sierra Leone.

Fighters in Burkina Faso were reluctant to divulge too much about the process and types of plants used, saying those are kept secret even from family members.

But they explained that one way to become “bulletproof” involves mixing 13 plants, inserting the paste into food and eating it out of a hole in the ground. The meal is prepared with water that was used to soak a metal arrow for 72 hours — the idea being that since the arrow is metal, a person will be protected from the heat of the bullet if shot.

While many Burkinabe grew up familiar with these practices, some never participated in them until the jihadis arrived several years ago.

Soumaila, a 19-year-old volunteer fighter tasked with helping the army combat extremists in rural parts of the country, said he only started using spiritual protection for the first time when jihadis attacked his village in the north.

Even before receiving a gun, community leaders gave Soumaila and other fighters bracelets, rings and special clothing that would stave off severe injury and death, he said. The AP is only using his first name to protect his identity as he feared reprisals for speaking to journalists.

Soumaila has survived at least 10 clashes with jihadis over a year and a half, a feat he attributes to a custom-made jacket he believes repels bullets. It cost nearly $90, a huge sum in rural Burkina Faso.

“When you go to dangerous fights and you survive, and nothing happens, then you realize that (the jacket) works,” he said. “If we didn’t have these protections, we would lack the courage to go to some fights.”

Made from cotton by a local tailor who studied the Quran for more than a decade in Mecca, the jacket is soaked in water from leaves and has several Arabic phrases written on animal hide sewn into it. Some of the writings include the name of the jacket’s owner, while others say different things which Soumaila said he could not reveal lest the jacket lose its powers. Being photographed in the jacket can also rid it of its powers, he said.

Some religious leaders, though, worry the rituals provide a false sense of security for fighters, many of whom are ill-equipped and lack training.

“If you rely on the power of the shirt and then go and fight and (the powers are) fake, you can be killed. It’s as if you caused your own death,” said Ali Kamena, an imam in the capital.

He called the practice “satanic” because the Quran says anyone who needs protection should ask God. Anything else is idolatry, he said.

Kamena has provided blessings to members of Burkina Faso’s armed forces from the Quran before going to fight, including for his son, a soldier in the army. One of the verses he uses says: “With the grace of God, you may come back healthy and safe.”

But for some fighters, these beliefs transcend religion. The Dozos, ancient hunters who have been drawn into the fight, believe people can rely on powers from their ancestors. Spiritual protections can be granted so long as someone is a good person, believes in the process and undergoes an initiation.

Since the violence broke out, many Dozos have been working with the army to help protect their country, relying on traditions to keep them safe. But many Dozos fighting on the front lines say they feel ill-equipped and want the government to provide them with better arms in order to stave off the jihadis.

Soumaila, too, said that if body armor were provided for him to protect himself, he would use it.

At a March celebration of Dozo culture in the western city of Bobo-Dioulasso attended by the AP, new initiates about to receive spiritual protections together with seasoned Dozos fired guns, danced and paraded with a dead leopard draped around their bodies.

Firing his rifle in the air and giddily twirling it between his fingers, Idrissa Cisse said he wouldn’t be able to help the army fight extremists without the ancestral powers he says make him bulletproof.

“When we go into the bush, our ancestors give us their goodwill and we go to fight, to do what we have to do,” he said.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment through The Conversation U.S. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Source: Burkina Faso fighters seek protection with spiritual rituals
Also, with pictures: Burkina Faso fighters seek protection with spiritual rituals

Burkina Faso fighters seek protection with spiritual rituals.
Source: Stars and Stripes.

Burkina Faso Fighters’ Faith In Tradition Amid Attacks

Published: April 29, 2021
By: Republic World, India – Written by Associated Press Television News 

Some fighters in Burkina Faso are putting their faith in traditional spiritual practices to protect them as attacks linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State ravage the West African nation, killing thousands and displacing more than 1 million people.

Some fighters in Burkina Faso are putting their faith in traditional spiritual practices to protect them as attacks linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State ravage the West African nation, killing thousands and displacing more than 1 million people.

Since the jihadist violence broke out, some Dozos – ancient hunters who have been drawn into the jihadist fight – have been working with the army to help protect their country, relying on traditions to keep them safe.

Their deeply rooted traditions holds that plants, animals and ritual objects mixed with verses from holy texts can provide protection before going to battle.

“Many Dozos are participating in the fight against the jihadists with the authorities, with the armed forces, we help them because we are true Burkinabè, true fighters,” said Idrissa Cisse, who attended a celebration of Dozo culture in the western city of Bobo-Dioulasso in March.

The ceremony brought new initiates about to receive spiritual protections together with seasoned Dozos who fire guns, dance and parade with a dead leopard draped around their bodies.

The support among the Dozos and their unity is what made Dramane Sanou decide to become part of the group.

“I want to join this group because of their honesty. You must be united as members of the same family, as brothers,” he said while waiting for the day of his initiation ceremony.

Philosophy professor and university researcher Jean-Baptiste Sanou said the rituals were linked to the “archaic” human need for protection when faced with violence.

Some people say the practice is rooted in animism, the belief that all things, from rocks and trees to animals and places, have a spirit.

Approximately 15% of Burkina Faso’s population identify as animists, according to a report from the International Crisis Group, which says the belief holds considerable weight in the majority Muslim country.

Some religious leaders, though, worry the rituals provide a false sense of security for fighters, many of whom are ill-equipped and lack training.

“They use this (magical protection) because they learned it from their parents. But we are Muslims and Islam forbids us to do that,” said Ali Kamena, an imam in the capital.

Fighters in Burkina Faso were reluctant to divulge too much about the process and types of plants used, saying those are kept secret even from family members.

But they explained that one way to become “bulletproof” involves mixing 13 plants, inserting the paste into food and eating it out of a hole in the ground.

The meal is prepared with water that was used to soak a metal arrow for 72 hours — the idea being that since the arrow is metal, a person will be protected from the heat of the bullet if shot.

Source: Burkina Faso Fighters’ Faith In Tradition Amid Attacks