World Day Against Witch Hunts

August 10 is World day against witch hunts.

During the past five years I have frequently posted on this sad topic. See e.g. the following posts: Witchcraft Persecution and Advocacy without Borders in Africa, earlier this year, as well as the following country-specific postings: DRC, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe.

Although not the main focus of this website I find it useful and necessary to draw attention to this phenomenon which is based on superstition, violates human rights and creates many innocent victims – not only elderly women and men but also children, just like ritual murders.

I wish to commend Charlotte Müller and Sertan Sanderson of DW (Deutsche Welle) – see below – for an excellent article on this topic. It’s an impressive account of what happens to people accused of witchcraft and victims sof superstition.
(FVDK)

World Day Against Witch Hunts: People With Dementia Are Not Witches

Witch camps in Ghana

Published: August 4, 2023
By: The Ghana Report

August 10 has been designated World Day against Witch Hunts. The Advocacy for Alleged Witches welcomes this development and urges countries to mark this important day, and try to highlight past and contemporary sufferings and abuses of alleged witches in different parts of the globe.

Witchcraft belief is a silent killer of persons. Witchcraft accusation is a form of death sentence in many places. People suspected of witchcraft, especially women and children, are banished, persecuted, and murdered in over 40 countries across the globe. Unfortunately, this tragic incident has not been given the attention it deserves.

Considered a thing of the past in Western countries, this vicious phenomenon has been minimized. Witch persecution is not treated with urgency. It is not considered a global priority. Meanwhile, witch hunting rages across Africa, Asia, and Oceania.

The misconceptions that characterized witch hunting in early modern Europe have not disappeared. Witchcraft imaginaries and other superstitions still grip the minds of people with force and ferocity. Reinforced by traditional, Christian, Islamic, and Hindu religious dogmas, occult fears and anxieties are widespread.

Many people make sense of death, illness, and other misfortunes using the narratives of witchcraft and malevolent magic. Witch hunters operate with impunity in many countries, including nations with criminal provisions against witchcraft accusations and jungle justice.

Some of the people who are often accused and targeted as witches are elderly persons, especially those with dementia.

To help draw attention to this problem, the Advocacy for Alleged Witches has chosen to focus on dementia for this year’s World Day against Witch Hunts. People with dementia experience memory loss, poor judgment, and confusion.

Their thinking and problem-solving abilities are impaired. Unfortunately, these health issues are misunderstood and misinterpreted. Hence, some people treat those with dementia with fear, not respect. They spiritualize these health conditions, and associate them with witchcraft and demons.

There have been instances where people with dementia left their homes or care centers, and were unable to return or recall their home addresses. People claimed that they were returning from witchcraft meetings; that they crash landed on their way to their occult gatherings while flying over churches or electric poles.

Imagine that! People forge absurd and incomprehensible narratives to justify the abuse of people with dementia. Sometimes, people claim that those suffering dementia turn into cats, birds, or dogs. As a result of these misconceptions, people maltreat persons with dementia without mercy; they attack, beat, and lynch them. Family members abandon them and make them suffer painful and miserable deaths. AfAW urges the public to stop these abuses, and treat people with dementia with care and compassion.

Source: World Day Against Witch Hunts: People With Dementia Are Not Witches

And:

Witch hunts: A global problem in the 21st century

Accusations of witchcraft typically affect the most vulnerable — such as this refugee living in the DRC
Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Scoppa

Published: August 10, 2023
By: Charlotte Müller | Sertan Sanderson – DW

Witch hunts are far from being a thing of the past — even in the 21st century. In many countries, this is still a sad reality for many women today. That is why August 10 has been declared a World Day against Witch Hunts.

Akua Denteh was beaten to death in Ghana’s East Gonja District last month — after being accused of being a witch. The murder of the 90-year-old has once more highlighted the deep-seated prejudices against women accused of practicing witchcraft in Ghana, many of whom are elderly.

An arrest was made in early August, but the issue continues to draw attention after authorities were accused of dragging their heels in the case. Human rights and gender activists now demand to see change in culture in a country where supernatural beliefs play a big role.

But the case of Akua Denteh is far from an isolated instance in Ghana, or indeed the world at large. In many countries of the world, women are still accused of practicing witchcraft each year. They are persecuted and even killed in organized witch hunts — especially in Africa but also in Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Many women in Ghana are pushed to live in so-called witch camps because they are rejected by society Image: picture-alliance/Pacific Press/L. Wateridge

Witch hunts: a contemporary issue

Those accused of witchcraft have now found a perhaps unlikely charity ally in their fight for justice: the Catholic missionary society missio, which is part of the global Pontifical Mission Societies under the jurisdiction of the Pope, has declared August 10 as World Day against Witch Hunts, saying that in at least 36 nations around the world, people continue to be persecuted as witches.

While the Catholic Church encouraged witch hunts in Europe from the 15th to the 18th century, it is now trying to shed light into this dark practice. Part of this might be a sense of historical obligation — but the real driving force is the number of victims that witch hunts still cost today. 

Historian Wolfgang Behringer, who works as a professor specializing in the early modern age at Saarland University, firmly believes in putting the numbers in perspective. He told DW that during these three centuries, between 50,000 and 60,000 people are assumed to have been killed for so-called crimes of witchcraft — a tally that is close to being twice the population of some major German cities at the time.

But he says that in the 20th century alone, more people accused of witchcraft were brutally murdered than during the three centuries when witch hunts were practiced in Europe: “Between 1960 and 2000, about 40,000 people alleged of practicing witchcraft were murdered in Tanzania alone. While there are no laws against witchcraft as such in Tanzanian law, village tribunals often decide that certain individuals should be killed,” Behringer told DW.

The historian insists that due to the collective decision-making behind these tribunals, such murders are far from being arbitrary and isolated cases: “I’ve therefore concluded that witch hunts are not a historic problem but a burning issue that still exists in the present.”

A picture of so-called witch doctors in Sierra Leone taken roughly around the year 1900 Image:
Getty Images/Hulton Archive

A pan-African problem?

In Tanzania, the victims of these witch hunts are often people with albinism; some people believe that the body parts of these individuals can be used to extract potions against all sorts of ailments. Similar practices are known to take place in Zambia and elsewhere on the continent.

Meanwhile in Ghana, where nonagenarian Akua Denteh was bludgeoned to death last month, certain communities blamed the birth of children with disabilities on practices of witchcraft.

Screenshot – to watch the video please consult the source

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is usually the younger generations who are associated witchcraft. So-called “children of witchcraft” are usually rejected by their families and left to fend for themselves. However, their so-called crimes often have little to do with sorcery at all:

“We have learned of numerous cases of children suffering rape and then no longer being accepted by their families. Or they are born as illegitimate children out of wedlock, and are forced to live with a parent who no longer accepts them,” says Thérèse Mema Mapenzi, who works as a mission project partner in the eastern DRC city of Bukayu.

‘Children of witchcraft’ in the DRC

Mapenzi’s facility was initially intended to be a women’s shelter to harbor women who suffered rape at the hands of the militia in the eastern parts of the country, where rape is used as a weapon of war as part of the civil conflict there. But over the years, more and more children started seeking her help after they were rejected as “children of witchcraft.”

With assistance from the Catholic missionary society missio, Mapenzi is now also supporting these underage individuals in coping with their many traumas while trying to find orphanages and schools for them.

“When these children come here, they have often been beaten to a pulp, have been branded as witches or have suffered other injuries. It is painful to just even look at them. We are always shocked to see these children devoid of any protection. How can this be?” Mapenzi wonders.

Thérèse Mema Mapenzi is trying to help women and girls accused of being “children of witchcraft”
Image: missio

Seeking dialogue to end witch hunts

But there is a whole social infrastructure fueling this hatred against these young people in the DRC: Many charismatic churches blame diseases such as HIV/AIDS or female infertility on witchcraft, with illegitimate children serving as scapegoats for problems that cannot be easily solved in one of the poorest countries on earth. Other reasons cited include sudden deaths, crop failures, greed, jealousy and more.

Thérèse Mema Mapenzi says that trying to help those on the receiving end of this ire is a difficult task, especially in the absence of legal protection: “In Congolese law, witchcraft is not recognized as a violation of the law because there is no evidence you can produce. Unfortunately, the people have therefore developed their own legal practices to seek retribution and punish those whom call them witches.”

In addition to helping those escaping persecution, Mapenzi also seeks dialogue with communities to stop prejudice against those accused of witchcraft and sorcery. She wants to bring estranged families torn apart by witch hunts back together. Acting as a mediator, she talks to people, and from time to time succeeds in reuniting relatives with women and children who had been ostracized and shamed. Mapenzi says that such efforts — when they succeed — take an average of two to three years from beginning to finish.

But even with a residual risk of the victims being suspected of witchcraft again, she says her endeavors are worth the risk. She says that the fact that August 10 has been recognized as the World Day against Witch Hunts sends a signal that her work is important — and needed.

Hunting the hunters  a dangerous undertaking

For Thérèse Mema Mapenzi, the World Day against Witch Hunts marks another milestone in her uphill battle in the DRC. Jörg Nowak, spokesman for missio, agrees and hopes that there will now be growing awareness about this issue around the globe.

As part of his work, Nowak has visited several missio project partners fighting to help bring an end to witch hunts in recent years. But he wasn’t aware about the magnitude of the problem himself until 2017.

The first case he dealt with was the killing of women accused of being witches in Papua New Guinea in the 2010s — which eventually resulted in his publishing a paper on the crisis situation in the country and becoming missio’s dedicated expert on witch hunts.

But much of Nowak’s extensive research in Papua New Guinea remains largely under wraps for the time being, at least in the country itself: the evidence he accrued against some of the perpetrators there could risk the lives of missio partners working for him.

Not much has changed for centuries, apart from the localities involved when it comes to the occult belief in witchcraft, says Nowak while stressing: “There is no such thing as witchcraft. But there are accusations and stigmatization designed to demonize people; indeed designed to discredit them in order for others to gain selfish advantages.”

Maxwell Suuk and Isaac Kaledzi contributed to this article.

Screenshot – to watch the seven images please consult the source

Source: Witch hunts: A global problem in the 21st century

Uganda: Family piles pressure on police to recover head of suspected ritual victim

Another suspected ritual murder in Uganda. This time an eight-year old boy was killed apparently for ritual proposes. The boy, Yasin Sserunga, who was a pupil at Destiny Primary School, was found dead with head and toes missing.

A suspect was arrested but his arrest won’t bring back the boy to his parents who are unable to recover from their grief at their son’s death. They pay the price for someone’s belief in witchcraft and superstition.
(webmaster FVDK).

Family piles pressure on police to recover head of suspected ritual victim

Yasin Sserunga, a pupil at Destiny Primary School went missing from his parent’s home at Kisule Butanza village, Katikamu Sub County in Luwero district on January 7th.

Sylvia Namutebi aka Maama Fiina condoling with Nabatanzi the mother of slain Yasin Sserunga.

Published: March 3, 2023
By: Mazima – Uganda (thanks to URN)

A family in Luwero District has asked the Police to find the head of an eight-year-old boy who was killed in a suspected ritual murder.

Yasin Sserunga, a pupil at Destiny Primary School went missing from his parent’s home at Kisule Butanza village, Katikamu Sub County in Luwero district on January 7th.

Sserunga was found dead the next day with his head and toes missing. Sserunga’s torso was buried at Kasanga village in Nakasongola District but to date, the Police are yet to recover the head and other parts.

Yasin Sserunga, the father of the deceased says that two weeks ago, residents arrested a key suspect Robert Mawanda, a neighbor, and handed him to Police but investigations have dragged on.

Sserunga says the family is still in pain for burying their child without some body parts. He also fears that the police may release the key suspect because they have detained him for two weeks without appearing in court, which is contrary to the mandatory 48 hours.

Abubaker Sande Ssebwoya, the uncle to the deceased says that the suspect was linked to the murder after residents and relatives found him at the scene of the crime at around 2 am when they were searching for Sserunga.

Ssebwoya adds that the Police also obtained phone printouts that linked the suspect to the scene and other people have recorded statements on the matter.

The child’s family abandoned their home after the murder and are staying with relatives.

Patrick Lule, the Savannah Regional Police Spokesperson has asked the family to remain calm because the police are determined to ensure they get justice and recover the missing body parts.

Lule says that Police detained Mawanda but he has denied participation in the ritual murder and knowledge about the whereabouts of the missing body parts.

Lule, however, notes that the Police are pursuing scientific investigations to link him to the murder and his file has been sent to the State Attorney to sanction charges against him. 

According to the Police report, 58 people were murdered in 2022 in Luwero and the district ranked eighth in the country with the highest number of homicide cases. 

Source: Family piles pressure on police to recover head of suspected ritual victim

Uganda: two witchdoctors arrested over suspected ritual sacrifice of boy

Already much has been said about ritual murders in Uganda in previous postings. The numerous reports of ritual killings in Uganda may adequately correspond with the many ritual murders committed in this country, but may also be attributed to the country’s active and well functioning press and the press freedom it enjoys (webmaster FVDK).

Two witchdoctors arrested over suspected ritual sacrifice of boy

Police arrest the suspects (blurred faces) in Kamuli District on February 18, 2023. PHOTO/OPIO SAM CALEB

Published: February 19, 2023
By: Sam Caleb Opio – Monitor, Uganda

What you need to know:

  • The duo, however, denied any involvement in the alleged crime.

Police in Kamuli District are holdingtwo witchdoctors as persons of interest in the suspected ritual murder of a four-year-old boy whose mutilated body was discovered in a sugarcane plantation, four days after he went missing.

On Wednesday, Alvin Butanakya went missing from his grandparents’ home in Naikesa Village, Kisozi Town Council.

But three days later, a sniffer dog led police to a shrine owned by Balat Buluuba and Fred Balikoowa.

At the shrine, police say they found Butanakya’s body smeared with ash and with missing parts, including the right hand, tongue and genitals.

Mr Micheal Kasadha, the Busoga North Police Spokesperson, said residents sought their help and they introduced a sniffer dog which led detectives to the shrine where the two were holed up.

“A search was conducted and some exhibits of evidential value were recovered. The two are helping police in investigations after which they will be charged with murder,” Mr Kasadha said at the weekend.

The duo, however, denied any involvement in the alleged crime.

“We are practicing native doctors who help spirit-struck patients.  We are being framed because of our big clientele. The blood stains they claim are from the deceased is actually from a chicken we slaughtered and sprinkled on the walls,” they explained.

Mr Robert Lutwama, the deceased’s grandfather, with whom he was staying, said the boy left home with his grandmother, Ms Annet Kilikumwino, on Wednesday at around 10am and never returned.

This prompted a search party by the community which yielded the discovery of his body buried in a sugarcane plantation 50 metres from his grandparents’ home.

Source: Two witchdoctors arrested over suspected ritual sacrifice of boy

Uganda: body of boy found without head, toes

The new year couldn’t start worse. Another suspected ritual murder in Uganda. This time the victim is an 8-year old boy who was kidnapped from his family’s courtyard – in Luweero District – on Saturday, January 7.
The reader is reminded that in August 2022, the body of a 3-year old child was discovered in the same region, hanging in a banana plantation, murdered. Also in the latter case, the circumstances warrant the suspicion of a ritual sacrifice.
(webmaster FVDK).

Body of boy found without head, toes

Police and residents near the scene where the deceased’s was discovered in Butanza Village, Luweero District, yesterday. PHOTO/ DAN WANDERA

Published: January 9, 2023
By: Dan Wandera – Daily Monitor, Uganda

What you need to know:

Residents say the incident has reawakened fears of kidnappers involved in ritual sacrifice.

Residents of Butanza-Kisule Village in Katikamu Sub-county, Luweero District, yesterday woke up to shocking news after they discovered the body of an eight-year-old boy, earlier reported missing in a garden.

The body did not have a head, fingers and toes.

While the residents associate the gruesome murder to child sacrifice, the police said they await the postmortem report to guide the investigations as they hunt for those who committed the crime.

“We have taken the body for postmortem but we call upon anybody with information that can guide the investigation to pass it to the police. Avoid rumours and unfounded talks but cooperate with the police,” Ms Sarah Kataike, the district criminal investigations officer, told the residents gathered near the home where the child went missing from the parents.

Ms Prossy Nabatanzi, the mother of the deceased, revealed that her son, Yasin Sseruga, was last seen on Saturday at around 3pm as he played with her younger sister in the family compound.

“As they played, somebody approached them and convinced the girl to go and get something from the house. When she returned, her brother and the unidentified man had disappeared from the compound,” she revealed.

“We reported the case to our village chairperson and we were also advised to go to Wobulenzi Police Station to report the case of the missing boy. The village mounted a search in the nearby areas but we did not get the missing boy,” she added.

Mr Godfrey Kafeero, the village chairperson, revealed that when the village tried to search the surrounding areas, they got stuck because there was no clue about the direction that the suspected kidnappers could have taken.

“They took advantage of the young girl and sister of the kidnapped boy who could not give any details. The young girl could not even describe the person who convinced her to go into the house,” he said.

Mr Kafeero explained that one of the residents only identified as Med discovered the lifeless body of a child tied between two tree trunks with a missing head as he approached his garden about 500 meters from the home where the child had been reported missing. “He quickly raised an alarm, alerting the residents. We are confused as residents because the intentions of the suspected assailants are not known. They manage to bring back the body in a place where we can easily locate it,” he says.

Ms Regina Nabachwa, another resident, said the incident has reawakened the fears of suspected child kidnappers involved in ritual sacrifice.

“This is a painful experience as a parent. They did not bother to call the parents for possible ransom. The suspects must have targeted the human body parts,” Ms Nabachwa claimed in an interview.

Recent incident

On August 31, police recovered the body of a three-year-old child hanging in a banana plantation in Kanyogoga Village, Luweero Sub-county. The deceased identified as Innocent Adriko had been left under the care of a 15-year-old by their mother, who had travelled.

Source: Body of boy found without head, toes

Also:

Suspected Ritual Victim Buried Without Head

The torso of Yasin Sserunga being taken for burial at Kasanga village in Katuugo town in Nakasongola district

Published: January 10, 2023
By: Brian Luwaga – Uganda Radio Network

The former pupil of Destiny Primary School disappeared from his parent’s home at Kisule Butanza village in Luwero district on Saturday afternoon.

You need to Log in and be a client to read this story in full and get access to audio and images.

Source: Suspected Ritual Victim Buried Without Head

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’

Uganda: why human sacrifices still thrive in Kayunga District

Many of my postings on this site refer to reported or suspected ritual murder cases in West Africa. However, this phenomenon dating from ancient times also exists in other regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. Superstition and the greed for power, wealth or good health constitute the main driving forces behind the crimes of ritual murder, human sacrifice and/or ritual cannibalism.

In East Africa ritualistic murders are rife in Uganda. As mentioned below, according to the 2013 Child Sacrifice and Mutilations Report, one child is killed for rituals every week. A mind blowing statistic. Within Uganda the Kayunga District has earned the dubious reputation of being one of the most notorious killing places. Read the breath taking article below; the reader is warned as it contains graphic details.

Uganda is one of an increasing number of SSA countries where human sacrifice and ritualistic murders have become crimes which carry the death penalty. Many countries and international initiatives have outlawed the capital punishment, but several African countries take a different course, notably to contain and/or eradicate ritual murders. The big question is whether the death penalty, which is not always executed, will bring us closer to a society where people no longer fear falling victim to ritual killers. Or should we look for another approach the eradicate this scourge of ignorance and superstition?

PS For an interesting plea to abolish the death penalty the reader is invited to read the following article: ‘Death of Death Penalty in Ghana‘ or click here.
(webmaster FVDK)

Why human sacrifices still thrive in Kayunga

A suspect digs up a place where he claimed to have buried a child in Kayunga District last year. PHOTO/FRED MUZAALE

Published: November 11, 2022
By: Fred Muzaale – Monitor, Uganda

What you need to know:

  • Police say most victims of human sacrifices are children because they are easier to abduct and seen as “pure” and of “higher ritual value.”
  • Last year, President Museveni passed the Prevention and Prohibition of Human Sacrifice Bill 2021, which criminalises the act of human sacrifice.

————————————————————————————————————–

On a hot Monday afternoon at Kayunga Court premises in Kayunga District, Allan Ssembatya walks with his head lowered. 

Visibly not in a good mood, he is in the company of a man and a woman. The two grown-ups are his mother and father.

The 19-year-old Ssembatya’s forehead bares a big scar that he sustained after he was cut with a machete by two men during an attempted ritual murder incident in 2009. He was by then 6 years old.
Fortunately, Ssembatya, now in Senior One, survived, but lost both of his testicles. Because of the cut inflicted on his head, he now has persistent headaches and nightmares.

A resident of Busolo Village in Kayunga Sub-county, Ssembatya spent one month in a coma after the incident.

“Doctors who examined him after the attack said he would not be able to bear children. This is purely a case of human sacrifice,” Ms Sarah Tumusiime, the Kayunga Chief Magistrate, revealed during a court session last month.

She sentenced the convicts; Paul Ngaswireki and Awali Kivumbi, both residents of Busolo Village, who were found guilty of committing the offence, to 40 years each in prison.

According to Ssembatya’s father, his son was attacked by the two men when he had gone to the garden to harvest a jackfruit. He was later left fighting for his life in a forest.

Ssembatya’s case is the latest among such incidents, but Kayunga District has had numerous human sacrifice-related incidents.

In March 2020, a 60-year-old man in Kakoola Village, Kitimbwa Sub-county, was beheaded and his head taken by unknown assailants.

The torso was later recovered from a bush. Two witch doctors were arrested in connection with this incident although the whereabouts of the human skull is still unknown.

Additionally, a traditional healer in Kisoga Village, Nazigo Sub-county, was arrested in 2018 after five bodies were found buried in his shrine. He was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mukono High Court.

Last year, a father in Bbaale Sub-county was arrested after he allegedly killed two of his children over ritual sacrifice. He confessed to the act claiming he was promised Shs2m.

Ms Beatrice Ajwang, the Kayunga District officer-in-charge of the Criminal Investigations Department, said most of the suspects arrested in connection with such acts are “traditional healers and people who want to get rich quickly”.

Ms Ajwang said most victims of human sacrifices are children, apparently because they are easier to abduct and seen as “pure” and of “higher ritual value.”

Without disclosing statistical figures of how many cases of human sacrifice had been recorded in the district, Ms Ajwang confirms that “Kayunga is a hotbed of ritual sacrifice”.

She said out of more than 300 traditional healers operating in the district, their preliminary investigations reveal that half of the number are quacks.

“Kayunga is a unique area, you will find many households having shrines on top of being multi-ethnic. This could be a major contributor to these acts,” Kayunga chairperson Andrew Muwonge said.

Ms Ajwang said despite enacting laws to crack down on those engaging in human sacrifices, the practice has continued.

The law
Last year, President Museveni passed  the Prevention and Prohibition of Human Sacrifice Bill 2021, which criminalises the act of human sacrifice.

The legislation was moved as a private member’s Bill by former Ayivu County legislator Bernard Atiku with the intent of addressing the growing vice of human sacrifice.

According to the new law, any person who mutilates or causes the death of another person for the purpose of performing or furthering a ritual commits an offence and will be punished by the death penalty upon conviction.

“Worse still, it is a big challenge investigating human sacrifice cases because on some occasions it is carried out by parents themselves on their children while in some other cases people are not willing to give information that could be of help to arrest and prosecute offenders,” Ms Ajwanga said, adding: “We appeal to religious leaders to help us instill morals in our people. As police, we have tried to sensitise them against this vice.’’

Ms Sylvia Namutebi, aka Maama Fiina, the national chairperson of Uganda Traditional Healer’s Association, dismisses claims that the acts are committed by people who practice her trade.

“No genuine traditional healer can sacrifice a human being. These are masqueraders hiding in our job. It is our duty to ensure we [genuine healers] weed out such bad people,” Ms Namutebi said.

She said with the help of genuine healers, they have arrested and prosecuted such ‘wrong elements’, noting that she is on a country-wide tour to sensitise traditional healers on professional ethics.

Mr Peter Mawerere, the Kayunga deputy Resident District Commissioner, blamed the vice on ignorance, greed, and poverty. He noted that many people sacrifice human beings because they think it will make them wealthier.

“It is surprising that many people go to traditional healers when they fall sick, even when their ailments can be treated by qualified medical personnel,” he said.

“We have tasked the leadership of traditional healers to fight the acts, which we highly believe are perpetuated by some of their members,” he added.

Rev Fr Maurice Kigoye, the parish priest of Kangulumira Parish in Kangulumira Sub-county,  said: “It [human sacrifice] is really an inhuman act. How can you think that when you kill a person and drink their blood, you can get rich? As religious leaders, we have tried to lure them [culprits] to turn to God and get saved,” Fr Kigoye said.

NGO role
Mr Peter Sewakiryanga, the executive director of Kyampisi Child Care Ministries (KCM), said his organisation receives a number of human sacrifice cases from Kayunga District every month.

“We work with probation officers, police, and other agencies who bring to our attention such cases,” he said.

Mr Sewakiryanga added that in a bid to ensure the culprits are arrested and prosecuted, his organisation facilitates investigations carried out by police officers.

“Many such cases die at the investigation stage, but with our support, a number of the suspects have been prosecuted and convicted like the recent one of Ssembatya. Court sentenced the convicts to 40 years each in jail,” he said.

He explains that KCM also offers treatment, counselling, and psychosocial support to survivors of ritual sacrifice.

“We have in some cases relocated families of the victims for their safety, built them houses and offered education to survivors,” Mr Sewakiryanga said.

2013 report

According to the 2013 Child Sacrifice and Mutilations Report, one child is killed for rituals every week.

The report indicates that people carry out human sacrifices to seek wealth, among others. 

Source: Why human sacrifices still thrive in Kayunga

Uganda: two witchdoctors arrested over child sacrifice in Mbale

Perpetrators of human sacrifices in Uganda face severe punishments including the death penalty when found guilty of ritual murder. This does not scare certain individuals to engage in this cruel, gruesome and criminal practice, as the article below demonstrates. (webmaster FVDK).

The Daily Monitor and Daily Monitor Yahudu Kitunzi are to be commended for paying attention to this news.

Two witchdoctors arrested over child sacrifice in Mbale

One of the suspects who confessed to the ritual murder sits on a police truck after leading detectives to the crime scene in Sisye Cell, Namatala Ward in Mbale City on September 1, 2022. PHOTO/YAHUDU KITUNZI

Published: September 1, 2022
By: Yahudu Kitunzi, reporter Daily Monitor

What you need to know:

  • A detained suspect who led police to the crime scene on Thursday morning told detectives that “they killed the child for sacrifice.”

Police in Mbale City have arrested two witchdoctors who confessed involvement in the sacrifice of a five-year old boy who disappeared three weeks ago.

One of the two suspects leads police to the crime scene in Sisye Cell, Namatala Ward in Mbale City on September 1, 2022. PHOTO/YAHUDU KITUNZI

With some parts missing, the body of Rajibu Nasamba was Wednesday evening found buried in a sugarcane plantation along Kabwagasi Road in Namatala Ward, Northern Mbale City Division.

“The deceased disappeared and his parents reported the case of disappearance to police. We have arrested two suspects to help with investigations,” Elgon region Police Spokesperson, Mr Rogers Taitika confirmed.

He identified the suspects as Jamadah Isiko and Ibrahim Isiko, who are brothers and residents of Kiduda Cell in Namatala Ward in Mbale Industrial City Division.

Detained Isiko who led police to the crime scene on Thursday morning told detectives that “they killed the child for sacrifice.”

 “It’s my brother who beheaded the boy and brought the body in the sugar cane for traditional rituals,” he said.

A police detective at the crime scene in Sisye Cell, Namatala Ward in Mbale City on September 1, 2022. PHOTO/YAHUDU KITUNZI

Preliminary police investigations indicate that the duo are also connected to the alleged sacrifice of a son to Mr Lukman Musamba.

Namatala ward resident Musamba said his son disappeared from home under unclear circumstances.

“I reported the disappearance of my son at Namatala police stations and I also placed radio announcements but in vain,” Mr Musamba, said.

Ms Mariam Mwiza, the Anti Human trafficking Activist, asked police to take the cases serious.

“The suspects shouldn’t be given a bond and thorough investigations should be conducted by police,” Ms Mwiza emphasized.

Mr Taitika disclosed that the suspects currently detained at Mbale central police station will be prosecuted but also cautioned parents to protect their children.

Human sacrifice in Uganda attracts severe punishments that may include life in jail or death.

Source: Two witchdoctors arrested over child sacrifice in Mbale

Uganda: parents arrested for killing their child in ritual sacrifice

Warning: the following may upset the reader because of the graphic details

A gruesome act. Parents who torture and kill their child in cold blood. Allegedly for ritualistic purposes. Why? It’s a mind-blowing question.
(webmaster FVDK)

Parents Arrested for Killing Their Child in Ritual Sacrifice

One of the suspects, Bosco Gudo, after being arrested

Published: August 19, 2022
By: Wambuzi Reacheal – Uganda Radio Network

Police in Kiira region on Friday confirmed the arrest of Bosco Gudo and his wife Eseza Musasizi over the killing of their  two and a half-year-old son Jordan Kitimbo sacrificial  rituals. 

32 year old Gudo and his wife Musasizi aged 21 years, both residents of Buwolelo village, in Buwenge sub-county, in Jinja district, are reported to have killed their son on Thursday.

The suspects are reported to have peeled off part of their son’s skin, extracted unknown quantities of blood in a bowl and immersed his lifeless body in hot water, as a means of covering up their crime. 

They later covered his remains in clean bedsheets before rushing them to Buwenge general hospital mortuary.

Their actions raised suspicion amongst residents who informed police, that in turn mounted a search in the house, where they recovered human parts suspected to be part of the deceased’s body.  

Perepetwa Namukose, a resident in the area, says that there was no reported fire outbreak at their neighbor’s house, yet the parents claimed that the toddler had succumbed to fire burns. “Our houses are close to each other, so it was hard for us to believe that Gudo’s son would succumb to burns, without any of us noticing anything,” Namukose says.  

On his part, the Kiira regional police spokesperson, James Mubi stresses that available reports indicate that these suspects have been mistreating Kitimbo, despite numerous cautioning from community members. 

Mubi says a team of detectives has been dispatched to expedite inquiries into the matter, adding that the suspects are being detained at Buwenge central police station. 

Source: Parents Arrested for Killing Their Child in Ritual Sacrifice

Uganda: Sheema businessman arrested in child ritual sacrifice

The article speaks for itself. Fortunately, the cruel crime was followed by an arrest. Let’s hope that a fair trial will take place.
(webmaster FVDK)

Sheema businessman arrested in child ritual sacrifice

Published: July 27, 2022
By: Chimp Reports – Uganda

Source: Sheema businessman arrested in child ritual sacrifice

Uganda sees spike in human sacrifices

Below follows a shocking account from Uganda. It is not the first time on this site that human sacrifices, ritual murders and ritualistic activities are being reported from this East African country.

The reported steep increase in the number of (reported and/or discovered!) human sacrifices is indeed extremely worrisome, the more so that we may assume that the discovered or reported cases of ritual killing are only the tip of an iceberg.

It’s a horrifying reality that mainly children are victim of these crimes which are above all based on superstition and (partly) caused by poverty. Partly caused, because according to reports not only poor people resort to human sacrifices to increase their well-being. Also (rich) businessmen do, as the 2014 case of the business tycoon Kato Kajubi demonstrates (see my posting dated May 7, 2021).

Whereas in 2019 22 ritualistic murders were recorded, this number rose to 45 in 2020, and to 65 last year (2021), resulting in the sad total figure of 132 human sacrifices which have been recorded.

Ritual killings must stop!
(webmaster FVDK)

‘A big problem’: Uganda sees spike in human sacrifice incidents

Most victims of the sacrifices are children, apparently because they are easier to abduct and seen as “pure” and so of “higher ritual value”. (AA Archive)

Published: July 3, 2022
By: TRT News

Authorities say human sacrifices take place at advice of ‘witch doctors’ in superstition-hit rural areas to bring good luck.

Human sacrifices continue unabated in the remote and rural areas of the landlocked East African country of Uganda despite authorities enacting tough laws and threatening death sentences.

According to officials, 132 incidents of human sacrifices have been recorded in the last three years. The numbers have spiked from 22 sacrifices in 2019, 45 in 2020 and 65 in 2021.

Most victims of such “ritual sacrifices” are children, apparently because they are easier to abduct and seen as “pure” and so of “higher ritual value”.

Anadolu Agency quoted authorities as saying on Sunday that the sacrifices are being carried out by witch doctors or local traditional healers, dotting rural areas.

Admitting that human sacrifice is a big problem, Lucas Oweyesigire, the police spokesman for the Kampala region, said most such practices take place in rural areas.

The so-called leader of traditional healing and witch doctors, Mama Fina, has also condemned human sacrifice and described those recommending the sacrifice of human beings as “fake”.

Taking advice from witch doctors

Police spokesman Fred Enanga said only last month they “arrested a man identified as Musilimu Mbwire on suspicion of killing his two sons in human sacrifice.”

According to preliminary investigations, a rich man had paid Mbwire money and convinced him to sacrifice his two sons at the instructions of a witch doctor.

Superstitions lead people in rural areas to seek help from witch doctors, who in turn offer weird prescriptions, including human sacrifices to turn around their luck.

A more worrisome part of the superstition is to undertake human sacrifice to put the body at the foundation of a building to bring good luck.

Timothy Mukasa, a local leader in Kampala’s suburb of Kireka, said many multi-storey buildings in the town have been built on a human body.

“The witch doctors tell owners to put a human body at the foundation of the construction of the buildings,” he said.

In 2014, authorities apprehended and later sentenced a tycoon Kato Kajubi for sacrificing a child and then putting his body in the foundation of a building that he was about to construct.

David Musenze, a journalist who studied psychology, said there are not many qualified counsellors to attend to psychological and mental issues of people, which makes them take advice from witch doctors.

“People go to witch doctors to help them get jobs, be promoted at jobs, or kill their enemies, along with many other problems,” he said.

Source: ‘A big problem’: Uganda sees spike in human sacrifice incidents