Uganda’s fight against the evil ‘medicine men’ who remove children’s limbs and organs for human sacrifice

In the villages of Uganda a new breed of witch doctors is hunting and kidnapping children to cut off their ears, noses and genitals. Often the witch doctors decapitate the boys or remove whole arms and legs of victims. Witch doctor Kivumbi Awali is pictured after his arrest

Published: June 24, 2019 
By: Stephen Gibbs – for Daily Mail Australia

  • Ritual killing of children by witch doctors takes place in Uganda, in East Africa
  • Body parts, blood or tissue are removed from boys and girls while they are alive
  • Pastor Peter Sewakiryanga saves mutilated victims and hunts the witch doctors
  • His work is partly funded by generous donations from a small Australian charity  

In the villages of Uganda a new breed of witch doctor is hunting and kidnapping children to cut off their ears, noses and genitals. 

Sometimes the medicine men remove whole arms and legs or drain blood from a boy or girl’s body while the victim is still alive. 

Sometimes the victim’s parents help decapitate their child.

Human sacrifice is not some ancient cultural ritual practised in this east African country, rather it is a barbaric modern way for cruel charlatans to make money.

Children in rural Uganda are kidnapped by witch doctors who torture and often murder them as part of a supposed spiritual sacrifice. 

The witch doctors mutilate the children and use their blood, tissue or organs in rituals they promise can bring clients protection, prosperity and good health. 

Child sacrifice survivor Allan Ssembatya was set upon in a Ugandan village called Busolo in 2009. ‘My son was coming home from school,’ his father says.  ‘They took him to the bush. They cut him. This cut on his head, this cut on his neck, damage to his private parts…’

In one of the most macabre practices to have developed, children are decapitated and their heads buried in new building foundations to bring success to businesses.

Fighting this terrible trade is pastor Peter Sewakiryanga who saves children scarred by ritual mutilation, and helping him is a small group of Australians.

Pastor Peter, a former accountant, started campaigning against child sacrifice about a decade ago and runs charity Kyampisi Childcare Ministries.

He helps rehabilitate survivors and raise awareness of the practice, working with politicians, police, prosecutors and judges to bring offenders to justice. 

Pastor Peter’s work features in an episode of the SBS program Dateline called How to Catch a Witch Doctor to air on Tuesday night. 

The program follows Pastor Peter and Brisbane civil engineer Rodney Callanan as they hunt for a witch doctor who allegedly almost killed six-year-old Allan Ssembatya ten years ago. 

Reporter Amos Roberts speaks to Allan’s father Hudson Semwanga about what happened to his boy in a village called Busolo in the district of Kayunga on October 21, 2009.

Justice Margaret Mutonyi is pictured with a girl whose hands have been cut off. ‘We have a society that believes in witchcraft,’ she tells the SBS program Dateline. ‘The majority of the population including Christians who go to church, they consult these witch doctors’
Robert Mukwaya suffered spinal injuries so serious it was thought he would never walk again. He had been snoozing in his grandmother’s kitchen in a village near Lake Victoria when a man dragged him out of the room and stabbed him in the neck. He underwent surgery in Australia

‘My son was coming home from school,’ Mr Semwanga says. ‘They took him to the bush. They cut him.

‘This cut on his head, this cut on his neck, damage to his private parts, in my view it’s very surprising that Allan is alive. 

‘What hurts me the most is that they were people that knew me really well, I grew up with them, I went to school with them. We used to treat each other as family.’ 

One of the two men accused of kidnapping and cutting up Allan is witch doctor Kivumbi Awali, who was secretly filmed by a BBC crew in 2011.

The crew posed as members of a construction company looking for a witch doctor who could bring their business prosperity. 

They were introduced to Awali, who killed a goat for good luck at their first meeting, then a few days later explained what he said was his most powerful spell: human sacrifice. 

Pastor Peter Sewakiryanga holding Hope, a young victim of child sacrifice. ‘They prey on the desperation of the people who are sick and are poor,’ Pastor Peter told Daily Mail Australia. ‘Even the elite who live in the city and are rich are now engaged’
Rodney Callanan, from the Brisbane charity Droplets In A Stream, helps fund the pursuit of Ugandan witch doctors who have not been brought to justice. ‘Unfortunately, the police, the courts in Uganda are grossly underfunded,’ Mr Callanan tells Dateline 

‘There are two ways of doing this,’ Awali was recorded telling the bogus businessmen. ‘We can bury the child alive on your construction site.’

‘Or we cut the child, and put their blood in a bottle of spiritual medicine. If it’s a male, the whole head is cut off, and his genitals.’

When Awali was finally arrested by police in the company of Pastor Peter and Mr Callanan he had a machete in his custody. As he was led away he complained his handcuffs were too tight.

Awali was charged with attempted murder and aggravated trafficking. 

His case is still before the courts and if convicted he could face a death sentence or life in jail. 

Allan is one of five child victims of human sacrifice Pastor Peter has helped bring to Australia for life-changing surgery. 

‘Sometimes it’s difficult to talk about what happened to me,’ the now 16-year-old tells Dateline. ‘And sometimes when I talk about it I start crying.

‘I remember the injuries I got, I remember when I was taken, I tried to struggle to run, they hit me up and they did whatever they wanted. So when I think about it I cry.’ 

Pastor Peter is supported by a Brisbane-based charity called Droplets In A Stream which provides education and health care opportunities to victims of child sacrifice who survive.

A witch doctor advertises his work outside his house in Kampala, the Ugandan capital. ‘A traditional healer with powers over spirits solves all cases, demons, thieves, tooth decay, madness, fevers, appelipse, genital affairs’. 

Doctors at Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital and Brisbane’s Mater Children’s Private Hospital have operated on rescued children free of charge. 

‘Australia has been so kind,’ Pastor Peter said. ‘These children would otherwise be dead.’

Witch doctors practising child sacrifice are motivated solely by money but pretend to be adhering to cultural beliefs to justify their crimes.

‘They prey on the desperation of the people who are sick and are poor,’ Pastor Peter told Daily Mail Australia. ‘Even the elite who live in the city and are rich are now engaged.

‘The problem is a national issue. It started in poor pockets of the community. Now it’s widespread. 

‘It has crossed boundaries into families killing their own children.’ 

The extent of this trade is hard to judge but Pastor Peter says he works with between 20 and 25 cases each year.

‘The issue is done under such secrecy it’s hard to estimate numbers. I can trace it to ten to 15 years ago.’ 

Balluonzima Christ (left) and Rose Ajiba (right) hold a photograph of their daughter Caroline Aya, who was allegedly killed in a sacrificial ceremony in the town of Jinja in southern Uganda 

‘It’s not part of our culture. It hides in our culture. It must be condemned.’

Droplets In A Stream, which Mr Callanan co-founded, also helps fund the pursuit of witch doctors who have not been brought to justice.  

‘Unfortunately, the police, the courts in Uganda are grossly underfunded,’ Mr Callanan tells Dateline.

‘Many cases actually don’t go to court or to trial because of lack of funding. And that’s one of our biggest roles in this area and that’s financial support.’

Judge Margaret Mutonyi tells the program: ‘We have a society that believes in witchcraft.’

‘The majority of the population including Christians who go to church, they consult these witch doctors.’

Paul Odida, a repentant witch doctor, now helps Pastor Paul raise awareness of the issue of human sacrifice. He visits villages to explain how the witch doctors instill fear in communities

In one scene Pastor Peter examines photographs of a boy approximately ten years old whose body was found dumped in the bush. 

‘So they cut off the ears, they cut through the neck and cut out the throat and cut off the limbs,’ he says. ‘Body parts were missing. The tongue, the legs, the genitals.’ 

The program also features Robert Mukwaya who in 2014 suffered spinal injuries so serious it was thought he would never walk again. 

Robert had been snoozing in his grandmother’s kitchen in a village near Lake Victoria when a man dragged him out of the room and stabbed him in the neck. 

He was left paralysed but surgery at Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital two years ago has allowed him to regain the use of his legs.  

In another scene Pastor Peter and Mr Callanan visit a village to warn about the practice of child sacrifice.  

‘Why we are here is we heard of a story of a child who was sacrificed here and unfortunately the people that kill these children are among us,’ Pastor Peter says.

‘Please, if you know who killed our child, just come and tell us, call the number, we will even put a reward. Please don’t fear. If you fear, next time it will be your child.’

How To Catch A Witch Doctor airs on Dateline on Tuesday, June 25 at 9.30pm on SBS. It can be watched later on SBS On Demand.

Allan Ssembatya (left) with father Hudson and Pastor Peter (right) after learning of one of his alleged attackers, Kivumbi Awali, has been arrested

Source: How to catch a witch doctor: Uganda’s fight against the evil ‘medicine men’ who remove children’s limbs and organs for human sacrifice – and the Australian charity helping bring them to justice

Related article: Pastor receives funding boost for iconic rehab centre for child sacrifice survivors
Published: June 24, 2019
By: Aaron Sseruyigo   

Executive director of Kyampisi Childcare Ministries in Mukono, Pastor Peter Sewakiryanga (M) receives a financial boost for his efforts to end Child sacrifice in Uganda during The Entrepreneurial Business School (EBS) Gala Charity Awards Dinner in Australia (Courtesy Photo)

Pastor receives funding boost for iconic rehab centre for child sacrifice survivors

Together, we will end child sacrifice, Pastor Peter Sewakiryanga says.

Pastor Peter Sewakiryanga who runs Kyampisi Childcare Ministries, a Christian charity seeking to stamp out child sacrifice in Uganda, has received a cash donation of $134,225 (approximately Ush491 million) for a rehabilitation centre expected to be a safe place for children who have been victims of child sacrifice and trafficking.

Pastor Peter received the funds from the Bruce Campbell Entrepreneurial Business School whose founder and Principal Business Coach, Mr Bruce Campbell, has been extensively awarded for his work through various international bodies.  

This happened in Australia over the weekend.

“We are humbled by the incredible continuous support of the Bruce Campbell Entrepreneurial Business School,” Kyampisi Childcare Ministries said in an update on Sunday.

“Thank you for this generosity, partnering with us in our efforts to build a new Trauma Rehabilitation Centre for kids abused through Child sacrifice and trafficking. What a community full of love and compassion. Together we will End Child Sacrifice,” they added.

Pastor Peter takes care of several child survivors of trafficking and human sacrifice and has built an extensive network linking communities and security to track suspected cases. 

In his remarks earlier in March, Mr Bruce Campbell said, “This will be the largest rehab centre of its kind in Uganda (& maybe Africa). So honored to be a board member and help guiding this life changing organisation.”

The organisation, Kyampisi Childcare Ministries (KCM) condemns witch doctors’ brutal ritual of child sacrifice, and has brought to books several culprits this year in the capital of Kampala alone.

In his recent interview with local media, Pastor Peter explained that victims of child sacrifice in Uganda carry with them serious and disturbing life scars and injuries which include complete genital mutilations, castration, deep stab wounds, missing tongues, ears, as well as emotional and psychological scars that need life time healing.

Pastor Peter Sewakiryanga (Courtesy Photo)

Working each day to bring Christ’s hope and healing to these children, Sewakiryanga’s devotion to the cause in 2017 attracted The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) who during an interview with the preacher, joined undercover detectives and armed police in a hunt for witch doctors accused of kidnapping and killing children.

“When they get the child, most times they cut the neck, they take the blood out, they take the tissue, they cut the genitals or any other body organs that they wish that the spirits want.” Pr Sewakiryanga said.

Child body parts are especially prized in rituals because people believe mixing their blood with herbs makes a strong concoction that can cure diseases and appease local spirits. Genitalia are especially prized.

“The problem is increasing and many children are killed, and there are very few actually that survive, most of them die.” Pr Sewakiryanga added.

According to CBN News, Kyampisi Childcare Ministries is the only organization in the country providing long-term financial and medical care to survivors of child sacrifice.

“We want to see that the life of a child who has survived is supported, that they are socially able to stand and heal from the injuries, and that they can have a life after that,” said Pastor Sewakiryanga.

He also works with Ugandan lawmakers to help draft specific laws targeting perpetrators of child sacrifice.

In 2018, Pastor Peter was one of two Ugandan activists recognised by The European Union (EU) for their tireless campaign to stop child trafficking.

He was credited for championing research and spearheading an awareness campaign in communities to stop the crime. 

Tanzania: Girl, 7, found dead as child killers spill more blood

Published: February 3, 2019
By: Godfrey Kahango @TheCitizenTz news@thecitizen.co.tz

Matembwe villagers in Njombe District prepare to lower the coffin carrying the body of Racheal Malekela in the grave during her burial yesterday. She was killed by unidentified people on Friday night. PHOTO | GODFREY KAHANGO 

Njombe. Another child, Rachael Malekela was found dead on Friday night at Matembwe Village in Njombe District as the spate of reported ‘ritual’ could killings and appearances continues to rock the area. More below.

Another example of ‘mob justice’ – another sign of a weak state and ‘rule of law’

Source: Girl, 7, found dead as child killers spill more blood

Related article:
4 killed over suspicion of ‘murdering’ 7 year old girl in Njombe

Published: February 2, 2019
By: Godfrey Kahango @TheCitizenTz gkahango@tz.nationmedia.com

Related article:
Njombe mother appeals for help to find missing son
Published: February 2, 2019
By: Godfrey Kahango @TheCitizenTz gkahango@tz.nationmedia.com

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Another related article:
Child killings in Njombe associated with witchcraft beliefs, says government
Published: January 30, 2019
By: Alex Malanga @ChiefMalanga amalanga@tz.nationmedia.com

Home affairs minister Mr Kangi Lugola 

Related:
UN condemns killing of children in Tanzania
Published: January 29, 2019
By: The Citizen Reporter @TheCitizenTz news@tz.nationmedia.com

UN Resident Coordinator in Tanzania Mr Alvaro Rodriguez
Freedom of fear is a human right. The rule of law an obligation of the state
(Webmaster FVDK)

Related:
Tanzania: How family lost three children in suspected ritual killings
Published: January 29, 2019
By: The Citizen Reporter @TheCitizenTZ news@tz.nationmedia.com

Njombe Region – Tanzania

Malawi: MP Kalindo threatens to reveal syndicate on albino ritual murders

Political opponents who throw stones to each other making allegations that have not been proven should be listened to – but they are not necessarily to be believed immediately. One such politician is Mulanje South Member of Parliament Bon Kalindo in Malawi. He was recently arrested in Lilongwe and was charged with two counts of allegedly misconduct and of insulting the president.  MP Kalindo alleges his arrest was ‘politically motivated’. A few days after his release from prison – on bail – he was assaulted and severely beaten up.

Kalindo said his arrest has taught him a lot of things including getting to know the syndicate of albino killings.  He claims that the albino killings is a syndicate and it involves senior officials with big names hence the need to stop pushing the blame on witch doctors or rituals. “I will come back to reveal everything through this program once my case is settled in court.”, he said. “I have so many revelations to make”, he added. Kalindo made history in Malawi when he led a demonstration in favour of concrete action against perpetrators of attacks on people with albinism, in what was called ‘naked’ march.      

We will continue to follow this case (webmaster FVDK).

For technical reasons the original article in the Nyasa Times could not be duplicated. The summary above is based on the Nyasa Times article of January 20 (2019), staying as close as possible to the original text. (Webmaster FVDK)

Published: January 20, 2019
By: Nyasa Times

Source: Kalindo threatens to reveal syndicate on albino ritual murders: Brands DPP as a ‘party of savages’

Two jailed in Gabon over gruesome occult sacrifice

As I stated earlier on this site (see my August 16, 2018 post), Gabon has a very bad reputation as ritual murders is concerned. Unlike in many other African countries, in Gabon there exists a very active grassroots organization fighting these ritualistic murders and the impunity that shields perpetrators and those who command these atrocious, criminal acts, from justice. The organization is called the Association for Fighting Ritualistic Crimes (ALCR). Its president, Jean-Elvis Ebang Ondo, recently said that his organization estimates that at least 50 ritualistic crimes, in a population of less than two million, occur each year. This means that on average every week a person is ritually murdered in this West African country.  More on the good work of the ALCR in upcoming posts. 

This week a positive report emerged. Two men were found guilty of a ritualistic crime committed in 2012 and sentenced to jail. One murderer received a life sentence, while his accomplice was will have to spend 12 years in prison. However, the ALCR in its reaction said that “the people who sponsored the murder have still not been arrested.” Read everything on this case in the article reproduced below. (webmaster FVDK)

Two jailed in Gabon over gruesome occult sacrifice

Published: January 11, 2019 – 20:54 GMT 
Updated: January, 12 2019 – 17:44 GMT
By: Daily Mail Co UK / AFP

Two men have been arrested and jailed in Gabon for gunning down another man and slicing off his tongue, fingers and toes in a gruesome occult sacrifice

A court in Gabon has jailed two men accused of sacrificing a man and cutting out his organs for black magic rituals, press reports and campaigners said Friday.

Henry Bengone B’Evouna received a life sentence for gunning down Achille Obiang Ndong, while his accomplice, Gerard Mba Eyime, was jailed for 12 years for slicing off the victim’s tongue, fingers and toes, l’Union newspaper said.

The sentences were passed on Tuesday by an appeals court in Oyem in the north of the west African country.

Bengone B’Evouna had struck a deal “with a former local dignitary to provide human organs in exchange for the sum of 800,000 CFA francs,” about $1,400 or 1,200 euros, l’Union reported.

Both men admitted guilt for the crime committed in 2012, it said.

An advocacy group, the Association for Fighting Ritualistic Crimes (ALCR), which said it was providing support for the victim’s family, said “the people who sponsored” the murder “have still not been arrested.”

In Gabon and other parts of West Africa, organs are used as fetishes in magic rituals, “and often are taken from people while they are still alive,” said the organisation’s president, Jean-Elvis Ebang Ondo.

“Often, there is no prosecution for crimes of ritual killings,” he said.

“Behind them, there’s a whole network of sponsors — politicians and powerful businessmen, marabouts [witch doctors], people called ‘nganga’ who act as spotters and often are schoolchildren or close relatives, and those who carry out the killing.”

Dread of kidnapping for organ removal is common.

Ebang Ondo said his organisation estimated that at least 50 ritualistic crimes, in a population of less than two million, occurred each year.

Source: Two jailed in Gabon over gruesome occult sacrifice

Related article: Two jailed in Gabon over gruesome occult sacrifice
Source: Brinkwire, dated January 13, 2019

Kenya: Popular witchdoctor claims Monica Kimani’s murder might have been a ritual killing

The following article is reproduced here to illustrate that we have to be cautious when reading news and related articles on alleged ritual murders. In this respect, too many rumors circulate in too many African countries and – luckily – often they’re not true. Be that as it may, the superstition behind these rumors reveals a real problem: the real fear of ordinary people for these ritualistic killings. Hence, though – fortunately – these crimes occur less frequent than the numerous rumors suggest, the ease with which these rumors spread in African societies are a clear indication that the phenomenon of ritualistic murders has not been wiped out in these societies. Related to the foregoing is the position and role of witchdoctors in African societies, as is shown in the following murder case.
We should have this in mind when reading the article below.
PS The added articles throw a different light on the murder of Monica Kimani.
(webmaster FVDK)

Ritual killing ndio wapate power na pesa?!

Popular witchdoctor claims Monica Kimani’s murder might have been a ritual killing

Published: October 11, 2018
By: Geoffrey Mbuthia
mpasho – Contact: info@mpasho.co.ke

The late Monica Kimani

Monica Kimani’s murder has opened a can of worms into so many lives that every day one wonders what new and crazy thing will we discover? Apart from the huuuuge news that television personality Jacque Maribe and her fiancé are the prime suspects.

The prime suspects, TV celebrity Jacque Maribe and her fiancé, Joseph Irungu alias Jowie

Jacque Maribe and Joe IrunguJacque Maribe and Joseph Irungu
Now a new twist has been thrown into this whole affair with claims that her murder might have been a ritual killing. What?

A quick reminder: Monica’s lifeless body was discovered with her mouth taped shut and her hands and legs tied behind her back. Her throat had been slit open from ear to ear. Early reports indicate that she had been decapitated.

According to SDE, a witchdoctor who cleansed the mystery suspect who was with Joe on the night of the killing. Why would one be cleansed after committing a murder? Priests of old would wash themselves after offering a sacrifice. Cleansing, in this case, may speak of a ritual killing.

Monica Kimani  Was her murder a ritual killing?

The great resource that is Wikipedia, states that it is the act of killing one or more humans, usually as an offering to a deity. Human sacrifice has been practiced in various cultures throughout history. Victims were typically ritually killed in a manner that was supposed to please or appease gods, spirits or the deceased.

SDE goes on to claim that:

NOW, A  MISSING SUSPECT IN THE MURDER OF MONICA IS REPORTED TO HAVE TRAVELLED TO MOMBASA TO SEEK “CLEANSING” BY A WITCH-DOCTOR.

This according to a few detectives who spoke to SDE and have travelled to Mombasa to find the mystery suspect. They say that the suspect was believed to be holding vital evidence taken from Monica’s house, including some cash, the killer weapon, house and car keys, and clothes.

Monica Kimani  The late Monica Kimani

A police affidavit claimed:

PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT IRUNGU WAS SEEN IN THE COMPANY OF ANOTHER PERSON NEAR THE CRIME SCENE.

It added:

THE IDENTITY OF THE PERSON SEEN WITH IRUNGU HAS YET TO BE ESTABLISHED BUT THE INVESTIGATING TEAM IS FOLLOWING LEADS.

The reason they are searching for this other mystery man is that Joe, the main suspect in the murder was in the company of another man whose identity police are searching for.

Joe Irungu  Joe Irungu in court

Surveillance cameras on the roads he used from off Denis Pritt Road, show Joe and the mystery suspect.

Source: Ritual killing ndio wapate power na pesa?! Popular witchdoctor claims Monica Kimani’s murder might have been a ritual killing

Related articles::

Did missing suspect in Monica Kimani’s murder visit witchdoctor for cleansing?

Published: October 12 (?), 2018
By: Cyrus Ombati

The late Monica Kimani (Photo: Courtesy)

The missing suspect in the murder of Monica Nyawira Kimani might have travelled to Mombasa to seek “cleansing” by a witchdoctor, police have said.

Officers said the suspect was believed to be holding vital evidence taken from Monica’s house, including some cash, the killer weapon, house and car keys, and clothes.

Monica’s body was found in her apartment at Lamuria Gardens off Denis Pritt road in Nairobi on September 20.

A team of detectives has been in Mombasa since Sunday amid claims the suspect could have gone to a witch doctor or two for “blessings”.

Sources in the team said they were pursuing good leads on the possible whereabouts of the mystery suspect in Mombasa.

Police said the suspect was believed to have been in the company of another suspect, Joseph Irungu, on the day Monica was killed.

TV journalist Jacque Maribe and her fiancé, Irungu, are set to be charged in court on Monday over the murder.

“Preliminary investigations have established that Irungu was seen in the company of another person near the crime scene,” said the police in an affidavit.

“The identity of the person seen with Irungu has yet to be established but the investigating team is following leads,” they said.

According to police, Irungu was using Maribe’s car when he was seen driving in and out of the compound of Monica’s apartment block.

Images of the car captured by surveillance cameras on the roads he used from off Denis Pritt Road to his residence in Lang’ata show the driver was in the company of another man whose identity police are searching for.

Joseph Irungu alias Jowie, one of the suspects (Photo: Courtesy)

Another team of detectives has been in Juba, South Sudan, since Sunday. Monica stayed and worked in Juba and police want to retrace her movements and activities.

The team is investigating what she carried when she left Juba for Nairobi on September 19.

They also want to know what she did for a living, her earnings and any other activities she could have engaged in.

Money theory

This is part a theory that money might have been a possible motive for Monica’s murder.

Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti said he was still waiting for reports from the teams on the ground.

In Juba, Monica was said to have been running her family business, Milly Paul General Trading Limited, which provided cleaning services for corporates and was contracted by a number of Kenyan companies.

Separately, Irungu, who was remanded at the Industrial Area Remand Prison, spent Tuesday night at the facility’s dispensary after complaining of pain from a wound that police said they suspected was self-inflicted.

Police said they suspected that Irungu attempted to commit suicide at Maribe’s house in Royal Park estate, Lang’ata, Nairobi.

Maribe was said to have been in low spirits when police visited her yesterday at Lang’ata Women’s Prison and did not want to talk.

TV celebrity Jacque Maribe, fiancée of Joseph Irungu, is suspected of involvement in the murder of Monica Kimani (Photo: Courtesy)

According to an officer involved in the case, Maribe became a suspect under the law that states that everyone is a party to an offence who actually commits it, does anything to aid any person to commit it or abets any person in committing it.

“Where two or more persons form an intention in common to carry out an unlawful purpose and to assist each other therein and any one of them, in carrying out the common purpose, commits an offence, each of them who knew or ought to have known that the commission of the offence would be a probable consequence of carrying out the common purpose is a party to that offence,” the officer said.

“An accessory after the fact to an offence is one who, knowing that a person has been a party to the offence, receives, comforts or assists that person for the purpose of enabling that person to escape,” said the officer citing the law.

Mr Kinoti was said to have personally interrogated Maribe as part of efforts to crack the case.

Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji said he had independently reviewed the evidence so far on record before deciding to charge Maribe and Irungu.

Source: Did missing suspect in Monica Kimani’s murder visit witchdoctor for cleansing?

Another related article:

Jowie Irungu, Monica Kimani’s killer consulted a witchdoctor after the murder

Published: October 11, 2018, refreshed 09:35
By: Tony Mukere

Details have now emerged that one of the suspected killers of Monica Kimani fled to Mombasa to seek help from a witchdoctor.

Jowie Irungu, one of the suspects

Police investigations have shown that the prime suspect Joseph ‘Jowie’ Irungu was in the company of another man on the night detectives believe he brutally murdered Monica.

His accomplice is also believed to be holding crucial evidence taken from Monica’s house, including some cash, the killer weapon (believed to be a knife), house and car keys, and clothes.

The search for the unidentified man has seen homicide detectives travel to Mombasa after learning he had travelled there to seek cleansing.

The hunt for the suspect has come at a time when the DPP has authorized murder charges against Jowie and his celebrity fiancé Jacque Maribe.

The detectives working on the case are reported to be working under pressure ahead of the start of the murder trial scheduled to start on Monday when the two suspects will record statements.

Although the publicly reported information showed Maribe as an accessory, who aided Jowie after the murder, detectives have explained that they believe she was involved before or during the murder.

Where two or more persons form an intention in common to carry out an unlawful purpose and to assist each other therein and any one of them, in carrying out the common purpose, commits an offence, each of them who knew or ought to have known that the commission of the offence would be a probable consequence of carrying out the common purpose is a party to that offence.”

An accessory after the fact to an offence is one who, knowing that a person has been a party to the offence, receives, comforts or assists that person for the purpose of enabling that person to escape,” an officer working on the case was quoted by the Standard.

Click the link in the source mentioned below to play the video (55 seconds)

Source: Jowie Irungu, Monica Kimani’s killer consulted a witchdoctor after the murder

The death of Monica Kimani has puzzled Kenya since she was found brutally murdered in her apartment. Below follow two more articles related to this murder case. Those interested in more details are advised to Google ‘Monica Kimani’s murder’ and they’ll get what they want (at least 50 articles) – FVDK. 

Another related article:

Revealed: The man who assisted Joseph Irungu to kill Monica Kimani before fleeing to Tanzania.

Published: October 19, 2018
By: Kenya Digital News

Current reports say that the identity of the man who accessed the late Monica Kimani’s
apartment with Jowie and assisted him in carrying out the heinous murder before stealing millions of shillings in foreign currencies has been identified.

His name is Jennings Olando and they are very close friends.

Trusted reports say that on the material day when Monica was killed, Jowie and
Olando were having drinks together with other friends at Road House Grill in Kilimani.

Later, the duo excused themselves around 9 pm saying that they were going for a job
elsewhere.

They later resurfaced at the same club around 2 am.

Detectives are looking for Olando who is believed to have fled to Tanzania.

It has also been reported that a day after Monica Kimani was killed, Olando went to Eastleigh where he exchanged over $4,000 to Kenya shillings and then travelled to Mombasa.

After arriving in the beautiful city of Mombasa, he is alleged to have sought the services of a witchdoctor to cleanse him and then fled to Tanzania.

His current location is not known.

Monica was found in a bathtub at her apartment in Lamuria Gardens in Kilimani, with her throat slit.

Her hands and legs were also tied when the body was discovered by her brother who had failed to reach her on phone and decided to visit the house.

The deceased was murdered on the day she arrived in the country from Juba, where she operated their family business, and was scheduled to travel to Dubai to meet her South Sudanese fiancée, with whom they were reportedly planning a wedding.

Another detective briefed on the DNA outcome said it shows that Jowie may have had sexual contact with the deceased before or after the killing.

Earlier reports said police are beginning to get a clearer profile of the killer from the way he operated and have now concluded that he is highly trained and killed Ms Kimani with the precision of a highly trained assassin.

There was no sign of struggle in the apartment and Ms Kimani made no noise when her attacker struck.

Results of DNA analysis on samples collected from the house of slain businesswoman Monica Kimani are out.

The outcome of the tests was submitted to the officers handling the murder case at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Wednesday.

DNA tests and fingerprint analysis placed Joseph Irungu at the scene of the murder of Monica Kimani.

Joseph Irungu, alias Jowie, has been placed at the heart of the investigation into the murder of the woman whose body was found in a bathtub in her Nairobi apartment with her throat slit.

Reports say that DNA tests on semen found on the murdered woman ,Monicah Kimani, and other samples from under her nails, confirmed with a 99.9 per cent accuracy that they belonged to Irungu.

This has placed him at the scene of crime on the material day and time.

Other samples which include bloodstained fingerprints also matched 99 per cent those collected from Irungu.

A senior officer involved in the probe said, “We are now working on witnesses.”

Other samples with similar findings had been dusted from an adhesive tape that was found covering Monica’s mouth, a rope used to tie her hands, and the bathtub.

The bloodstains were found on a sofa set. The investigators said fingerprints lifted from Monica’s body also matched those of Irungu.

Government Chemist Detectives from the Homicide Unit at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters have been working with officials from the Government Chemist in the analysis of the samples.

Ms Kimani, 28, was murdered in her house on the night of September 19 and 20, and her body— with a throat slit from ear to ear, taped tied mouth and tied legs and hands— left in the bathtub with the water running.

Her assailants threw her two phones in a bathtub full of water before locking the house and leaving with the apartment keys.

Police believe the killer used a knife to cut Monica’s throat but he knife is yet to be found.

Police say that the phones which were recovered and analysed gave crucial information.

In addition, police said that pieces of cloth subjected to forensic tests also provided crucial clues, police said.

The team also dusted a car that Irungu was using on September 19, when Monica was killed.

The office of the Government Chemist was recently moved to the DCI, and this now seems to be working in expediting the quick resolution of crimes.

Images captured by police cameras of the car Irungu used from Denis Pritt Road to his Lang’ata residence showed that the driver was in the company of another man.

Source: Revealed: The man who assisted Joseph Irungu to kill Monica Kimani before fleeing to Tanzania.

And:

Jacque Maribe and her fiancé plead not guilty to Monica Kimani murder

Published: October 15, 2018
By: African Stand Staff

TV celebrity Jacque Maribe and her fiancé Joseph Irungu plead not guilty to Monica Kimani murder

Kenyan TV anchor Jacque Maribe and her fiancé Joseph Irungu alias Jowie have pleaded not guilty to Monica Kimani’s murder.

At the Milimani Law Courts, the duo pleaded not guilty to the murder of Monica Kimani. This preceded last week’s ruling where Justice Lessit ordered mental assessment of Maribe and medical treatment for Irungu.

Irungu’s counsel Mugambi Laichena asked the court to ensure he is furnished with all documents and exhibits that the prosecution will rely on

Katwa Kigen for Maribe also requested for close hearing dates, all prosecution documents, investigation diary and investigation officers’ statements. The defence team also requested for the trial dates to be declared.

Public prosecutor Catherine Mwaniki told the court that her office can only provide the defence team with the details once the Witness Protection Agency gives direction on witness protection.

She was however not averse to setting early trial dates as requested by Mr Kigen.

Justice Lesiit directed that the victim’s family had up to the morning of Tuesday, October 16, to file an affidavit seeking to bar release of the two suspects on bail, which application will be served to the defence team and heard on Wednesday.

Justice Lesiit said that another judge will take up the case as from Wednesday but did not name him or her when lawyer Kigen asked her about it.

Maribe has been detained at the Langata Women Prison while Irungu is held at the Industrial Area Remand Prison, Nairobi.

Katwa Kigen and Cliff Ombeta representing Maribe and Irungu respectively said they were ready for the next stage of the case. They emphasised that their clients are innocent.

Justice Jessie Lesiit on Tuesday directed the prosecution ensure that Ms Maribe undergoes mental assessment within a week, so that she can take a plea.

Last week Justice Lesiit cleared Irungu to seek medical attention for treatment of a bullet wound on his chest. The prosecution is lining up over ten witnesses to solidify the case.

On Thursday Jacque Maribe was declared fit to stand trial.  On the same day, another suspect, Brian Kasaine was released and ordered to report to police once a week. He is expected to be a witness.

Kasaine’s arrest came after it emerged Irungu might have used Kasaine’s  gun in attempted suicide.

Police believe that the attempt took place in Maribe’s house at the Royal Park estate in Langata, hours after the body of Monica was discovered at her Kilimani house. They are trying to link the September 19 murder to Irungu’s gunshot wound. Another man seen at the murder scene is yet to be arrested.

The police believe that the missing man has knowledge of the killer weapon and will help establish the motive of the murder.  The search for the suspect was extended to Mombasa last week.

Monica’s body was found in the bathtub of her apartment at Lamuria Gardens, Kilimani,with her throat slit. Her hands were tied at the back and the water was still running when her body was found.

Source: Jacque Maribe and her fiance plead not guilty to Monica Kimani murder

Previous ritual murders, attacks targeting albinos in Burundi

Burundi has an ugly past with respect to the safety of people living with albinism – like other countries in the region, e.g. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Swaziland. I have counted more than 20 registered (!) attacks on albinos in Burundi since 2008, often deadly, but very likely the real number is much higher. Arrest of culprits and prosecution of accused are rare, possibly because of – according to rumors – the involvement of politically powerful people and rich businessmen and because some murderers commit their heinous crimes on command of principals in neighboring countries, notably Tanzania.

I have reproduced a number of these murders and other incidents. Burundi is a francophone country and many articles are in French. Therefore I have provided a summary in English of the French reports and articles. Unfortunately, a number of articles have disappeared from the web since 2008.

I have omitted ritualistic murders committed before 2008 in the overview presented below.(webmaster FVDK)

Ritual murder of albinos back again!
(In French)
Summary in English:
After one year of no murders, a 15-year old albino girl named Chantal has been found murdered in the Kabezi community, south of the capital Bujumbura, on May 6. Her death and mutilation brings the total number of reported cases since 2008 to over 20.
(…..)
According to the president of the organization ‘Albinos without borders’ (‘Albinos sans Frontières’) the killers slit the girl’s throat and dismembered her. A neighbor, Kassim Kazungu, affirms that Chantal is the 18th person murdered for ritual purposes in the community since 2008. The government of Burundi is blamed for doing nothing to protect its citizens and for being too passive after the escape from prison of a number of convicted ritual killers.
(….)

The original article, in French:

Le retour du meurtre d’albinos

Published: May 7, 2012
By: RFI

Au Burundi, après une année d’accalmie, un albinos a été tué dans la nuit de samedi à dimanche 6 mai dans la commune de Kabezi, au sud de Bujumbura. Chantal, une jeune fille albinos de 15 ans a été tuée par un groupe de criminels, puis affreusement mutilée. L‘association Albinos sans frontière, qui a déjà dénombré une vingtaine de crimes rituels d’albinos depuis 2008, condamne et met le gouvernement en face de « ses responsabilités ».

Ces tueurs, armés d’un fusil, de machettes et de lances, sont d’abord passés au domicile des parents de la jeune fille albinos, une dizaine de kilomètres au sud de Bujumbura. Ils ont obligé sa mère à les accompagner chez un de ses fils, où la jeune Chantal avait trouvé refuge.

Sous la menace, la mère a demandé à son fils de lui ouvrir, qui tout naturellement s’est exécuté. La suite est racontée par le président de l’association Albinos sans frontière, sur place hier matin. « Ils ont pris la fillette. Deux kilomètres après, ils ont égorgé la fillette, et ils ont décapité ses jambes et ses bras, on a trouvé la fillette jetée dans un fossé par ces malfaiteurs ».

Frustration, colère, désarroi. « Le choc est rude  », explique Kassim Kazungu après ce meurtre, le dix-huitième qui touche sa communauté en moins de quatre ans au Burundi, d’autant explique-t-il, que tous les assassins d’albinos, condamnés et regroupés dans la prison de Ruyigi dans l’est du Burundi, se sont évadés en 2011.

« Depuis 2008 au mois d’août jusqu’aujourd’hui, nous comptons dix-huit enfants albinos déjà massacrés. Nous pensons que l’Etat est impuissant, parce que s’il était puissant, à Ruyigi comme vous le savez, il y avait dix-huit personnes qui étaient condamnées, mais aujourd’hui il n’y a plus personne. Tous se sont évadés de la prison et nous, nous pensons que c’est eux-mêmes qui continuent ces massacres d’albinos. Nous demandons à l’Etat – où sont ces gens là qui avaient été condamnés à cause des massacres d’albinos ? »

Très gênées, plusieurs autorités burundaises contactées par RFI ont refusé de s’exprimer, en se réfugiant derrière le secret de l’instruction.

Source: Burundi : le retour du meurtre d’albinos

Then…. two years later:

Another ritual murder of an albino child in Burundi:
Nouveau meurtre rituel d’un albinos au Burundi

Albino children in parts of Africa are targeted by groups who believe their body parts bring luck (stock image)

Published: October 4, 2010
By: RFI Afrique / RFI

A 8-year old boy has been found dead and mutilated in the province of Ruyigi, near Tanzania. This brings the
total to eight murdered albinos and one still missing in the past four months.
(…)
Last May a 28-year old mother together with her 4-year oldd son were killed and mutilated for ritual purposes in the community of Cendajuru, also near the Tanzanian border.
(…)
SInce September 2008 14 albinos have been murdered in Burundi.
(…)

The original article:

Les albinos du Burundi sont sous le choc. Il y a un peu plus de 48 heures, un garçon albinos de 8 ans a été tué puis démembré, alors que les autorités pensaient avoir mis fin à ces crimes rituels qui avaient frappé jusqu’ici la province de Ruyigi, frontalière de la Tanzanie. Le président de l’association Albinos sans frontière du Burundi, Kassim Kazungu, exprime la terreur qui anime désormais les albinos et entend agir pour ne plus voir ce genre de crime.

Au Burundi, six albinos ont été tués et un septième porté disparu au cours des quatre derniers mois. Chacun des membres de cette communauté vit désormais dans la terreur d’être le prochain sur la liste. Aujourd’hui, des dizaines d’albinos ont fui leurs collines pour les villes où la sécurité est mieux assurée.

Selon Kassim Kazungu président de l’association Albinos sans frontière du Burundi  « il y a au moins 80 albinos qui sont déplacés de chez eux. Ils sont regroupés dans les chefs-lieux de communes et chefs-lieux de provinces».

Mais jusqu’ici, assure le président de l’association des Albinos sans frontière du Burundi, seules quelques associations leur viennent en aide alors que certains responsables administratifs menacent de chasser ces albinos. Kassim Kazungu affirme que « le gouvernement burundais ne fait rien, seulement des promesses et qu’il ne tient pas ».

Après ce nouvel assassinat d’un jeune albinos, un garçon de 8 ans tué à coups de machette puis amputé de ses bras et jambes, Kassim Kazungu ne décolère pas. Il appelle le pouvoir burundais à prendre exemple sur le voisin tanzanien où l’on est parvenu à mettre fin à ces assassinats rituels.

« En Tanzanie, le président lui-même a pris la situation en main. Les albinos de Tanzanie sont mieux traités, dit-il. Alors pourquoi pas chez nous ? Je demande alors au chef de l’Etat d’aider ces albinos. Si nous ne sommes pas les enfants de cette nation qu’on nous renvoie là d’où nous sommes venus ».

Huit personnes accusées au Burundi d’assassinats et tentatives d’assassinats d’albinos ont été condamnées à des peines allant de un an de prison à la perpétuité en juillet 2009.

L’ONG canadienne « Under the same sun » (Sous le même soleil) a dénoncé en mai dernier l’assassinat et la mutilation le 2 mai d’une mère de 28 ans et de son fils de 4 ans, tous deux albinos, dans la commune de Cendajuru, près de la frontière tanzanienne, portant à 14 le nombre d’albinos tués au Burundi depuis septembre 2008. Ces albinos auraient été victimes d’un trafic d’organes vers la Tanzanie voisine où certaines parties de leurs corps serviraient à confectionner des charmes qui apportent la richesse à leurs possesseurs.

De son côté, le chanteur Salif Keita préside l’Association solidarité pour l’insertion des albinos du Mali. La mission de cette structure est de chercher des solutions aux problèmes que rencontrent les albinos dans la société. Son action se fonde sur l’égalité des chances et la solidarité.

Les albinos souffrent d’une maladie génétique caractérisée par une absence de pigmentation de la peau, des poils, des cheveux et des yeux. Ils sont victimes de discriminations dans de nombreuses régions d’Afrique.

Source: Nouveau meurtre rituel d’un albinos au Burundi


Jail over Burundi albino killings
Published: July 23, 2009, 6:23 GMT
By: BBC News

One person has been sentenced to life in prison and eight others to jail in Burundi over the murder of albinos whose remains were sold for witchcraft.

Three other suspects were acquitted by the court in Ruyigi province over the the killings of at least 12 albinos.

The victims were mutilated and their body parts sold in neighbouring Tanzania for use in potions.

In addition to the killing of albinos in Burundi, more than 40 have been killed in Tanzania.

In addition to the life sentence, those convicted were jailed for between one and 15 years.

The trial is believed to be the first linked to a spate of albino killings in East Africa since 2007.

Witchdoctors in the region claim potions made with albino body parts will bring those who use them luck in love, life and business.

An association campaigning for the rights of albinos in Burundi says the authorities are now taking the killings seriously, but more needs to be done.

At least 200 people have been arrested over the trade in Tanzania, but none has been convicted.

Source: Jail over Burundi albino killings


Regional parliament decries albino killings

Published: May 30, 2009
By: The Citizen, Tanzanian online newspaper

The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has decried the killing of albinos in the region and urged “tougher measures” to stop the ritual murders and protect albinos. (…) At the ongoing meeting of the regional parliament in Bujumbura, Burundi, MPs from the five EAC member states called for regional cooperation to protect albinos victimised by superstitious fortune seekers.
(…)
The killings are rampant in some parts of Burundi, Kenya and Tanzania.
(…)
The legislators said while “considerable progress” had been made on human rights issues in the EA region, the current killings and hostility portrayed towards the albino community showed there was still a long way to go in achieving the full respect for human rights.

Source: Regional parliament decries albino killings
Unfortunately, the original article has disappeared from the web.


Alleged albino killers on trial in East Africa

Published: March 20, 2009 (updated 12:23 am)
By: Africa correspondent Andrew Geoghegan

Eleven people accused of murdering 12 albinos in East Africa have gone on trial.

A recent spate of albino killings has seen at least 50 people across East Africa murdered and those on trial in Burundi are accused of killing 12 of them.

There is a widespread belief in the region that African albinos, who lack pigment in their skin and appear white, are cursed.

Some witchdoctors have encouraged the killings and police believe body parts are traded for use in witchcraft.

Human rights campaigners have accused police of failing to act on the murders.

Two hundred people connected to the trade in body parts have been arrested in Tanzania but no one has been convicted.

Source: Alleged albino killers on trial in East Africa


Burundian albino murders denied
Published: May 19, 2009
By: BBC News


The trial has begun in Burundi of 11 defendants accused of attacking and killing 12 albino people, starting with the murder of a young girl.

It is thought to be the first trial linked to the recent spate of albino killings in East Africa, which has claimed more than 50 lives.

The 11 denied charged of murder and attempted murder.

Police believe albino body parts are smuggled out of Burundi and sold in Tanzania, to be used in witchcraft.

Magic potions

If convicted, the defendants could be sentenced to life in prison.

Witchdoctors in the region tell clients that potions made with albino body parts will bring them luck in love, life and business.

In addition to the killing of albinos in Burundi, more than 40 albinos have been killed in Tanzania.

An association campaigning for the rights of albinos in Burundi says the authorities are now taking the killings seriously, but more needs to be done.

At least 200 people have been arrested over the trade in Tanzania, but none has been convicted.

Source: Burundian albino murders denied


Burundi: Progress in the ‘albino cases’

Translated:

Burundi: Des progrès dans les “affaires d’albinos”

Published: March 15, 2009
By: ? (see: ‘Source’)

Huit personnes trouvées à leurs domiciles en possession d’ossements humains censés provenir d’albinos assassinés ont été arrêtés dans la province de Ruyigi, dans l’est du Burundi. Selon le parquet local, les personnes interpellées ont été dénoncées par deux autres suspects arrêtés ayant avoué avoir assassiné deux albinos.

Deux pays d’Afrique des Grands Lacs notamment – le Burundi et la Tanzanie voisine – connaissent ces derniers mois une vague de meurtres rituels d’albinos alimentée par un commerce macabre. Les organes d’individus souffrant d’albinisme – absence de pigments colorants de la peau – sont très recherchés des sorciers et autres fétichistes parce qu’ils sont censés porter chance en amour et en affaires notamment.

Source: Burundi: Des progrès dans les “affaires d’albinos”
Unfortunately, the original French article has disappeared from the web.


Burundi arrests eight for albino killings

Published: March 15, 2009
Reporting by Patrick Nduwimana, editing by Helen Nyambura-Mwaura / Reuters

BUJUMBURA, March 15 (Reuters) – Burundi has arrested eight people found with human bones suspected of belonging to albinos, a government official said on Sunday.

The tiny east African nation and neighbouring Tanzania have been convulsed by a spate of ritual albino murders fuelled by a body parts trade. Witchdoctors tell clients that albino parts will bring them luck in love, life and business.

“Before arresting them, we did a search and found human bones in their houses,” said Nicodeme Gahimbare, a public prosecutor in the eastern Ruyigi province.

“The eight were denounced by two other detained people who have already confessed to killing two albinos,” Gahimbare said.

Albinism is a condition that causes a lack of pigment in the eyes, skin or hair, which makes patients especially vulnerable to skin cancer and burns, and makes life particularly difficult in sun-drenched Africa.

Since last year, 11 albinos have been killed in Burundi. Forty others have been murdered in Tanzania since mid-2007.

Kazungu Kassim, the head of a Burundi albino association, said: “Authorities have now realised that the killing of albinos is a serious matter which needs concrete action.

“We urge the government to double efforts in protecting albinos, because what we are witnessing here is a planned extermination of the albino community.”

There are about 200 albinos in the nation of 8 million people.

Source: Burundi arrests eight for albino killings


Albino boy killed
Un garçon albinos tué

Stock image

This article is only available in French. It is preceeded by a short abridged version in English.

Bujumbura (AFP) – Another albino boy was murdered, this time in the Muruta community, in Kayanza Province (about 90 km north of the capital Bujumbura. “The people of the region found the body of a boy of eight or ten years old who was killed and whose legs and arms had been cut off. (….)”. On February 24, a six-year-old boy had been murdered and dismembered in the same Kayanza Province.

The recent killing brings the total number of ritual murders of albinos to nine in the past five moths.
(…)

Below the original French version:

Burundi: un garçon albinos tué

Published: March 9, 2009

Bujumbura (AFP) — Un garçon albinos a été tué et mutilé dans le nord du Burundi, dernier cas d’une série de meurtres rituels visant les albinos dans ce pays et en Tanzanie voisine, a-t-on appris lundi de source administrative. Ce nouveau meurtre a eu lieu dans la commune de Muruta, dans la province de Kayanza (environ 90 km au nord de la capitale Bujumbura).
“La population a découvert hier (dimanche) le corps d’un garçon albinos de huit à dix ans, qui a été tué et dont les bras et les jambes ont été coupés”, a rapporté à l’AFP Geneviève Ntawiha, administrateur de la commune de Muruta.

Unfortunately, the original French article has disappeared from the web.

Another murder case:

Au Burundi, la traque des albinos
The hunt for albinos in Burundi

This article is only available in French.
It relates of the plight of the albinos in Burundi where since September 2008 five albinos have been murdered for ritual purposes.

Nicodème Gahimbare, in Ruyigi, in the east of the country, tells how seven bandits invaded the house, and while three of them threatened the family with their AK-47, four bandits dismembered the albinos of the family – alive – in a horrific scene. They started with the arms, then the legs, and finally the head.

Au Burundi, la traque des albinos / The hunt for albinos in Burundi

Stock image

Published: December 22, 2008
By: Pierre Lepidi – ENVOYÉ SPÉCIAL BUJUMBARA (Le Monde)

Dans la région des Grands Lacs, on les appelle “les enfants du soleil” : ils portent chance. Leurs corps sont recherchés par les sorciers. Cinq meurtres ont été commis depuis septembre, dans d’effroyables conditions

Cette nuit-là, les machettes étaient aiguisées. “Sept bandits ont fait irruption dans la maison, raconte Nicodème Gahimbare, procureur de Ruyigi, province située à l’est du Burundi. Trois ont menacé la famille avec des kalachnikovs, pendant que les quatre autres découpaient l’albinos, qui était toujours vivant. Ils ont commencé par les bras puis ont tranché les jambes et enfin la tête. L’un d’entre eux recueillait le sang dans un bidon… Puis, ils sont repartis en laissant dans la pièce ce qui restait du corps.” Depuis septembre, les albinos du Burundi sont victimes d’une traque effroyable, sordide et insensée. Cinq meurtres, plus abominables les uns que les autres, ont déjà été commis. Hommes ou femmes, garçons ou fillettes, les albinos sont devenus bien malgré eux les cibles d’un marché fort lucratif.

On ne compte plus les légendes africaines qui entourent les albinos, victimes d’une maladie génétique qui se caractérise par une absence de pigmentation de la peau, des poils, des cheveux et des yeux. Mi-hommes, mi-dieux, selon les régions, leur “blancheur” pourrait apporter toutes sortes de pouvoirs, bénéfiques ou maléfiques. Au Cameroun, au Mali et dans d’autres pays du continent, on attribue à ces “enfants blancs” nés de parents noirs des forces surnaturelles. “Ici, dans la région des Grands Lacs, nous sommes considérés comme les enfants du soleil, de la chance, explique avec un air de dégoût Cassim Kazungu, président de l’Association des albinos du Burundi. Alors, certains sorciers, principalement originaires de Tanzanie, racontent que s’ils mélangent nos os et notre sang à certaines potions magiques, ils seront capables de confectionner des gris-gris pour obtenir de l’or, de la chance ou une éternelle jeunesse. On nous assassine pour des histoires de sorcellerie…”

C’est principalement sur les bords du lac Victoria que seraient nées ces légendes. Autour du plus grand lac africain, on raconte, par exemple, que verser du sang d’albinos sur une mine d’or pourrait suffire à faire jaillir des pépites, sans même avoir à creuser la terre. Chez les pêcheurs, on soutient que le fait d’appâter les eaux du lac avec un bras ou une jambe découpée sur un corps d’albinos permettrait d’attraper de gros poissons, le ventre gorgé d’or…

En attendant, c’est l’appât du gain qui nourrit ces massacres humains. “L’un des bandits qui a été arrêté après un meurtre a dit qu’on lui avait promis 1 million de franc burundais (650 euros), explique Cassim Kazungu. La peau des albinos vaut une fortune et nous sommes dans un pays où les gens ont faim… Il faudrait que le gouvernement prenne des mesures très sévères à l’encontre des tueurs.” Deux hommes ont déjà été condamnés à la peine capitale, mais celle-ci est en passe d’être abolie, ce qui accroît l’angoisse des albinos.

Sur les rives du lac Tanganyika, où l’espérance de vie est de 43 ans, où l’indice de développement humain (IDH) classe le pays à la 169e place mondiale (sur 177), la guerre civile, qui a opposé les ethnies hutu et tutsi entre 1993 et 2006, a fait près de 300 000 morts. La tension ethnique est aujourd’hui retombée et, jour après jour, la paix avance. Jeudi 4 décembre, un accord de cessez-le-feu, conclu avec tous les autres mouvements rebelles en 2006, a été signé entre le gouvernement et le FNL (Forces nationales de libération), le dernier groupe en activité. Mais les massacres ethniques ont laissé des séquelles psychologiques irréversibles, inquantifiables, et une économie en lambeaux. Le soir, dans certains quartiers de Bujumbura, la capitale, on raconte qu’il suffit de “10 000 francs “bou”” (6,50 euros) pour acheter la vie d’un homme…

C’est en Tanzanie, pays de 40 millions d’habitants qui borde le Burundi à l’est, que les premiers meurtres ont été commis. Depuis le début de l’année, il y en aurait déjà eu une trentaine, alimentant des réseaux dirigés par certains notables. Le Parlement européen a adopté, le 3 septembre, une résolution condamnant “vigoureusement” l’assassinat d’albinos dans ce pays.

Les autorités tanzaniennes ont pris des mesures de protection, comme l’instauration d’un recensement et la mise en place d’un service d’escorte pour les enfants se rendant à l’école. Le gouvernement a surtout annoncé que des sanctions très sévères, allant jusqu’à la peine de mort, seraient prises contre toute personne mêlée à ces crimes rituels. Quelques trafiquants et une cinquantaine de sorciers auraient été arrêtés dans la foulée.

L’apparition de cette traque sur le sol burundais pourrait résulter des mesures prises en Tanzanie. Les frontières sont poreuses, surtout lorsque les trafics génèrent des sommes colossales… “Le gouvernement tanzanien a agi rapidement en faisant du meurtre des albinos un crime puni de la peine capitale, a déclaré Olalekan Ajia, responsable de l’Unicef au Burundi, le 19 novembre. Du coup, les sorciers et autres charlatans sont partis pour le Burundi.” Le retour de 100 000 réfugiés burundais vivant dans des camps le long de la frontière tanzanienne est une autre hypothèse avancée.

Jusque-là épargné, le Burundi, qui recense près de 150 albinos sur une population de 8 millions d’habitants, déplore donc aujourd’hui 5 meurtres et un disparu. Début décembre, un homme en tenue militaire armé d’une machette a tenté une agression. Il a été arrêté par le père de l’albinos, qui a été sérieusement blessé lors de l’altercation. Roué de coups par les gens du village, l’agresseur est décédé le lendemain.

Les albinos du Burundi vivent la peur au ventre. “Je ne sors plus de chez moi car, même si la capitale est pour l’instant épargnée, je me sens en insécurité, lâche Pascal, 28 ans, un habitant de Bujumbura. Mais je suis bien obligé d’aller faire mes courses… Sur le trottoir, les gens disent en me regardant : “Regardez, le beau paquet d’argent qui déambule !” D’autres stoppent leur voiture à ma hauteur et me menacent : “Tu vaux l’équivalent de trois camionnettes, on va te vendre en morceaux…” Nous vivons un véritable cauchemar.” Quelques ruelles plus loin, Nathalie, 25 ans, n’est guère plus sereine. “La situation est très difficile et j’ai peur, dit-elle. Mais je suis surtout très inquiète pour ceux qui vivent à l’extérieur de la capitale.”Rien n’arrête les tueurs. Pour découper les membres d’une adolescente de 16 ans, tuée quelques jours plus tôt, certains sont allés jusqu’à déterrerdeux fois son cadavre…

Lorsque les premiers meurtres ont été commis, dans la région de Ruyigi, à mi-chemin entre Bujumbura et la frontière tanzanienne, Nicodème Gahimbare, procureur de la province, a parcouru la région pour proposeraux albinos de les héberger chez lui. L’homme a pris des risques pour assurer leur protection. Il a payé de sa poche, aussi. “Il fallait vraiment faire quelque chose pour ces gens, dit-il. Les atrocités des attaques se propageaient à travers les villages, et ils vivaient de plus en plus dans l’angoisse… Dans une même famille, je me souviens qu’il y en avait quatre ! Plus loin, un curé a accepté que je lui en confie quelques-uns… Pendant une semaine, j’en ai hébergé huit. Très vite, on a atteint la vingtaine ! Il en arrivait presque tous les jours des villages alentour…”

Le gouvernement s’est alors penché sur leur sort. Les ONG, les pouvoirs publics et la communauté internationale se sont mobilisés. L’ambassade de France a été l’une des premières à réagir en envoyant des vivres et des matelas dans la maison. L’Union européenne a fait parvenir à Ruyigi des vêtements et des chapeaux pour protéger leur peau, sur laquelle se forment des croûtes après des expositions prolongées au soleil. “Ils vivaient dans des conditions d’hygiène déplorables, confie un Français qui a fait quelques visites à Ruyigi dans un but humanitaire. La maison, qui n’avait ni eau ni électricité, possédait seulement 3 chambres. J’y ai compté 34 albinos…”

Début décembre, une nouvelle demeure a été trouvée. Elle n’est toujours pas raccordée à l’eau et à l’électricité, mais elle est plus spacieuse puisqu’elle compte 10 chambres. On y trouve 39 “enfants du soleil”, âgés de 6 mois à 62 ans, auxquels il faut ajouter 6 accompagnateurs (parents, frères ou soeurs). Le loyer est pris en charge par le gouvernement et non plus par l’Association des albinos, “dont les comptes sont totalement vides”, indique le président.

L’Etat s’est engagé à prendre à sa charge les 8 policiers, contre 4 auparavant, qui assurent la sécurité de la maison. “On pensait que la situation durerait quelques mois, mais elle perdure, déplore Nicodème Gahimbare. Un jeune albinos est retourné dans son village, mais il s’est fait attaquer dans sa propre maison. Ceux qui sont sous notre protection ont tellement peur de rentrer qu’ils ne veulent plus repartir…”

Le gouvernement burundais, avec l’appui de la communauté internationale, vient de lancer plusieurs campagnes de sensibilisation à travers le pays. Mais s’il faudra du temps pour enseigner la tolérance, il en faudra encore plus pour faire taire les croyances. “Autrefois, on disait qu’un albinos qui naissait de parents noirs portait forcément malheur, car il était l’enfant d’une mère volage, lâche Cassim Kazungu. Il était rejeté et vivait comme un marginal, un laissé-pour-compte. Maintenant, on fait croire aux gens que nous portons chance. Alors, on nous massacre !”

Source: Au Burundi, la traque des albinos


6-year-Old Albino Girl Killed for Body Parts

Published: November 19, 2008
By: ? See below (‘Source’)

The following is an excerpt from the original 2008 article which has since disappeared from the web:

(…)
In Ruyigi province, Burundi, a 6-year-old girl, named Cizanye, was murdered in front of her family because she was an albino. A gang of armed bandits broke into the family home; they tied up the girl’s parents and shot the little girl in the head. They then cut off her head and both her arms and legs and left with the body parts. The attack took place at the family’s home in Bugongo, more than 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of the capital Bujumbura. Police said they suspected criminals of hunting albinos to sell their organs and limbs to witch doctors in Tanzania who use them for lucky charms.

“This little girl is the third albino victim of such barbaric crimes in our province since September. We are doing everything we can to find the killers,” Ruyigi province prosecutor Nicodeme Gahimbare said.
(…)
In the meantime, officials in eastern Burundi said that 24 albinos have fled their villages and gone into towns for fear of slaughter. Msembo said many albino children were dropping out of school for fear of being kidnapped. Many albinos have sought refuge in urban centers, which are relatively safer. She said “They are cutting us up like chickens” while pointing to a picture on a wall in her cramped office of a limbless body with the skin on its face peeled off from an incident in 2007.

Source: 6-year-Old Albino Girl Killed for Body Parts 
(linked disappeared in cyberspace)

The following BBC article refers to the same incident:


Albino girl killed for body parts

Published: November 17, 2008
By: BBC News

A six-year-old albino girl in Burundi has been found dead with her head and limbs removed, in the latest killing linked to ritual medicine.

Albinos in the region have been targeted because of a belief peddled by witchdoctors that their body parts can be used for magic potions.

The girl, who was attacked on Sunday, was the sixth person with albinism to be killed in Burundi since September.

There have also been a number of attacks in neighbouring Tanzania.

The latest attack took place in Burundi’s eastern province of Ruyigi.

The BBC’s Prime Ndikumagenge in Burundi said the child and her family had only just returned to their family home.

Armed attackers broke into the family home and tied up the girl’s parents before shooting her in the head, local officials say.

They had been among a group of about 50 people with albinism to have fled to a provincial centre because they feared for her safety.

The head of the Burundi Albinos’ Association, Kasim Kazungu, says people with albinism had not suffered any discrimination until other Burundians heard about the lucrative trade in albino body parts in neighbouring Tanzania.

Last week, police in south-western Tanzania arrested a man who was attempting to sell his albino wife to Congolese traders.

Two mothers in western Tanzania were also attacked with machetes after gangs failed to find their albino children.

Source: Albino girl killed for body parts

Ritual murder of Bouba in Ivory Coast: “Witchdoctors should be hunted”

Also in Ivory Coast witchdoctors (locally called ‘marabouts’ and ‘féticheurs’) are held responsible for ritual killings committed in this country. The article reproduced below focuses on the case of a 4-year old boy named Bouba who disappeared, had his throat sliced and was found back buried. In the article, the author André Silvar Konan also mentions the wave of kidnappings of small children that terrified the population of this francophone West African country in 2015. André Silvar Konan criticizes the local authorities, accuses them of complicity, and demands justice: those who are responsible should be traced, arrested, tried and spend the rest of their lives behind bars. He points at corruption and illegal enrichment as driving forces behind these ritual killings and pleads for another, more healthy, state of mind – not only in Ivory Coast, but in the whole of Africa.

The original article also contains 20-plus interesting comments published on Facebook.
(webmaster FVDK)

Crime sur le petit Bouba en Côte-d’Ivoire: « Les marabouts et féticheurs des brouteurs ne doivent plus connaître de repos »

Translation (mine – FVDK – free translation):
“Witch doctors of predators should be hunted”

Published: February 28, 2018
By: André Silver Konan

“Missing” (left); “The suspect” (right)

Après le crime sur le petit Bouba à Williamsville (Abidjan), André Silver Konan exige que les marabouts et féticheurs des brouteurs soient traqués, arrêtés, jugés et condamnés à vie. Ci-dessous sa position.
Personnellement, j’ai un problème avec la manière dont le ministère public mène les enquêtes en Côte d’Ivoire chaque fois qu’un criminel rituel est mis aux arrêts. Dans l’affaire Bouba, on a une unique occasion de démanteler un vrai réseau criminel qui a choisi comme cible, nos enfants.

Pour mettre fin à ce genre de crimes rituels, opérés par de stupides gens qui pensent encore au 21è siècle, qu’ils peuvent devenir riches, en volant la vie d’un homme ; la justice doit amener les personnes arrêtées, à citer, non seulement leurs complices et commanditaires, mais surtout leurs marabouts et autres féticheurs.

On ne pense pas souvent à ces derniers, mais ils sont l’alpha et l’oméga de tous ces crimes. Les marabouts et autres féticheurs sont les premiers criminels dans ces affaires, il faut les arrêter parce qu’ils sont soit des complices soit des commanditaires de ces meurtres. Tant que ces derniers ne seront pas inquiétés, harcelés, arrêtés, emprisonnés à vie (je milite pour la prison à vie de ces gens-là), ce phénomène ignoble va continuer.

Heading (translated): Case of 4-year old child kidnapped, sacrificed and buried: “Suspect mentions ‘big shot’ – Accomplice arrested” (Source: Soir info, Wednesday, February 28, 2018 – Ivory Coast / Côte d’Ivoire).

Je répète : les marabouts et féticheurs de ces brouteurs stupides ne doivent plus connaître de repos. J’avais proposé en 2015, après la vague historique d’enlèvements d’enfants dans le pays, qu’un procureur spécial et une brigade spéciale soient nommés, pour lutter contre les atteintes aux droits de nos enfants. Je réitère cette proposition, elle reste d’actualité.

J’avais déjà dit que la corruption était un état d’esprit en Afrique. Je soutiens aussi que l’enrichissement illicite est un état d’esprit. Nous vivons tous dans des quartiers avec des brouteurs, qui deviennent riches du jour au lendemain, alors que nous savons pertinemment qu’ils ont, au pire usé de sacrifices rituels criminels pour devenir ce qu’ils sont, au mieux de vols et de détournements de fonds d’autrui, pour être ce qu’ils sont.
Mais qui d’entre-nous songe à les dénoncer ? Qui au sein de la justice, songe à traquer véritablement les brouteurs, si ce ne sont de petites actions médiatiques ? Quel DJ n’est pas fier de chanter les louanges d’un brouteur et n’est pas heureux de recevoir son argent dégoulinant du sang de nos enfants ?

Regardons autour de nous, les gens sont nommés et trois mois plus tard, ils roulent carrosses et construisent immeubles. Mais n’est-ce pas eux que nous prenons comme modèles dans nos quartiers, que nous désignons comme respectables dans nos villages, que nous choisissons à des postes électifs ?

Nous avons une Inspection générale d’Etat, une haute autorité pour la bonne gouvernance, des Agents judiciaires du Trésor, des Inspecteurs et contrôleurs financiers dans tous les ministères, mais combien de personnes ont déjà été arrêtées, jugées et condamnées pour enrichissement illicite, détournements de fonds publics ?

Les crimes rituels en rapport avec l’enrichissement rapide et illicite continueront tant que les autorités elles-mêmes qui sont censées faire respecter les textes sur l’enrichissement illicite continueront de se comporter comme des brouteurs. Y en a marre !

André Silver Konan

Source: Crime sur le petit Bouba en Côte-d’Ivoire: « Les marabouts et féticheurs des brouteurs ne doivent plus connaître de repos »
February 28, 2018
Le 28 février, 2018

Related article:

Insécurité : Des artistes se révoltent après l’assassinat du petit Bouba
Translation (mine – FVDK – free translation)
Artists enraged after the murder of young Bouba

Published: March 1, 2018
By Philomène Yaï (Stg) – linfodrome

4-year old Aboubcar Sidick nicknamed Bouba was murdered. Marabouts and/or féticheurs had been involved (witchdoctors). Bouba had disappeared and was found back dead, buried. His murderers had his throat sliced, apparently for ritual purposes.

Artists in Côte d’Ivoire  have reacted on the brutal killing of the young child Aboubcar Sidick nicknamed Bouba. His murder was a trending topic on social media and had a tremendous impact on the showbiz community in Ivory Coast.

Read the following article (in French):

Des artistes ivoiriens ont réagi après l’assassinat du petit Aboubacar Sidick dit Bouba. L’affaire, qui a affolé les réseaux sociaux depuis quelques jours, a touché les acteurs du showbiz ivoirien.

Les artistes n’ont pas voulu rester en marge de ce drame qui a affecté la Côte d’Ivoire. Chacun a, à son niveau, posé des actes pour exprimer sa srevolte et temoigner sa solidarité.

Debordo Leekunfai a effectué le déplacement pour aller soutenir la famille meurtrie résidant à Williamsville.

Bien avant son déplacement, l’artiste a traduit ses sentiments de tristesses sur les réseaux sociaux. « J’ai le cœur qui saigne ! Un cœur en larme ! Pourquoi enlever un sourire à un enfant qui n’a rien demandé à part vivre ! Je dis NON à tous ces actes d’enlèvement ! Que cela cesse ! Chers parents, protégeons nos enfants, car ils sont la relève de ce pays ! Que ton âme repose en paix petit ange! », a exprimé le chef du robbot macador.

”Opah La Nation” ne s’est pas arrêté là. Il a ajouté que le Showtime qu’il prépare en ce moment, qui est prévu le 31 mars 2018, au Palais de la culture d’Abidjan, est dédié à ce petit Bouba.

A côté de Debordo Leekunfa, Mc One, le filleul de Kédjevara Dj, a lui aussi eu une pensée pour le petit Bouba. Avec des paroles poignantes dans un single, Mc One a rendu hommage à Aboubacar Sidick. « Petit Bouba fait la fierté de son père et sa mère, vit le jour au jour mais ne sait pas que la vie est très amère, que pout peut changer d’une minute à l’autre. La vie est un choix mais dans certains cas la vie choisit pour nous même (…), prenons conscience et posons de bons actes pour assurer notre atterrissage parce que la vie est un vol et la mort est un crash. Bouba, Petit Bouba, je sais que de là où tu es, tout va bien …», a écrit Mc One dans son texte en hommage au petit Bouba d’un crime rituel d’un bijoutier.

Source: Insécurité : Des artistes se révoltent après l’assassinat du petit Bouba
Le 1 mars, 2018
March 1, 2018

Uganda: ‘We wanted wealth!’ Four witch doctors arrested over ritual murders tell Police

One of the suspects – upon interrogation – discloses the buried bodies and police exhumes the missing persons (PML Daily PHOTO)

Published: August 13, 2018
By: Maurice Muhwezi

KAYUNGA – Police in Naggalama has arrested four witchdoctors for alleged ritual killing.

A disappearance report of Mirembe Zuraika was filed at Naggalama Police Station on August 11 and Police mounted a search leading to the arrest of the witchdoctors.

The DPC Naggalama ASP Jessica Naawe confirmed that the relatives of Mirembe reported a case of the disappearance of their daughter and tipped off police that she had talked of having an appointment with a one Owen Sebuyungo, a 24-year-old witch doctor.

In his confession, Sebuyungo narrated that Mirembe visited his shrine for help since she had been possessed by evil spirits (empewo).

Sebuyungo then contacted his spiritual consultant a renowned witchdoctor Mohammed Wamala alias Bob who enticed him to murder Mirembe.

One of the suspects held over the vicious ritual murders is led to a cell at Naggalama Police Station (PML Daily PHOTO)

Wamala allegedly told Sebuyungo that he would amass lots of wealth if he could cut off the head of a female human being.

Following leads, police conducted further investigations leading to the arrest of a syndicate of witch doctors that are believed to have participated in the heinous act.

Upon thorough questioning, the four confessed to having welcomed Mirembe at the shrine and at dawn, beheaded her and buried the head in the shrine.

The suspects then led Police to the shrine where she had been buried.

Shockingly five bodies buried in a rather disturbing position were exhumed.

Wamala told Police he had ferried over eight females from his home in Ganda Nansana, murdered and buried them at this shrine located in Ntunda Kayunga.

Police has also recovered a number of items that include spears and pots filled with fresh blood suspected to be human blood.

Several bodies were exhumed by the Police at the shrine (PML Daily PHOTO)

Blood samples have been picked, taken to the Government Analytical Laboratory (GAL) while the recovered bodies that had decomposed beyond recognition have been taken to Mulago hospital for DNA test so that the relatives can identify them.

“The search is still going on. We suspect more bodies must still be buried under the remaining five shrines,” ASP Naawe said.

Police has since cordoned off the area as the search for more evidence continues in this strange murder case.
The four suspects identified as Junior Kibuuka, Fred Kiiza Semanda, Wamala Muhammed and Owen Sebuyungo are detained at Naggalama Police Station.

Source: We wanted wealth! Four witch doctors arrested over ritual murders tell Police
PML Daily, Uganda

Related articles:

Police, CMI recover five bodies from Kayunga shrine, healer arrested
By Fred Muzaale
Daily Monitor
August 11, 2018

Police in Naggalama, Mukono District and operatives from Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) have arrested a traditional healer and also recovered five bodies from his shrine in Kisoga village, Nazigo sub-county, Kayunga District.
The Naggalama police division police commander, Ms Jesca Naawe, identified the suspect as a 27-year-old a renowned youthful traditional healer.
Ms Naawe explained on Saturday that the five bodies, one believed to be of a woman, and the rest of male adults, were dug from three shallow graves which were found in the suspect’s shrine.

Source: Police, CMI recover five bodies from Kayunga shrine, healer arrested

And:

Police find child skull in fresh search on shrines
By Fred Muzaale & Joseph Kato
Daily Monitor
August 14, 2018

 Mr Owen Ssebuyungo (squatting) one of the suspe

Mr Owen Ssebuyungo (squatting) one of the suspects directs police during the search in Kayunga District yesterday. PHOTO BY FRED MUZAALE

Kayunga- Security operatives yesterday retrieved a skull of a child when they resumed a search at a witch-doctor’s shrine in Kisoga village, Nazigo Sub-county in Kayunga District where five human bodies were recovered last Saturday.

The main suspect, Mr Owen Ssebuyungo, 27, and three other witch doctors are being held in separate detention centres.

The five bodies, one being of a woman, were dug up by police assisted by residents at Ssebuyungo’s grass-thatched shrine.

The security team resumed the operation at around 2pm although it was interrupted by a downpour.

The residents and police from Kayunga and Naggalama police stations used hoes to dig up the entire compound, which had five shrines, as the suspects watched.

By press time, police had recovered a skull of a child at the shrines, but the excavation was still ongoing.

More bodies

“We have come back to dig up the entire area because locals told investigators that they think there are still more bodies which were buried in the shrines,” Mr George Obia, Kayunga District Police Commander said.

Police have since Saturday maintained presence at Ssebuyungo’s shrine, which has been declared a scene of crime.

A house belonging to Ssebuyungo’s mother, standing a few metres from the shrines, looked deserted as she reportedly fled after her son’s arrest about a week ago.

Ssebuyungo, according to locals, lived with his wife in Kabimbiri town in the neighbouring Mukono District and only came to his shrines to attend to clients. His father Charles Ssonko, now deceased, was also a witch doctor.

The Local Council One chairman, Mr Bernard Ssekizira, said the discovery of human bodies at the shrine has left the residents in shock.

“Although we had heard rumours that Ssebuyungo was involved in suspicious acts of kidnapping people, we never took it seriously until Saturday when human bodies were discovered at his shrine,” Mr Ssekizira said.
He said the incident has tainted the image of their village, adding that people will start shunning the area.

He urged authorities to investigate activities of all witch-doctors in the area to arrest whoever is engaged in criminal acts.

Following the incident, Kayunga Deputy Resident District Commissioner Yahaya Were said they had stopped all activities of witch doctors in the district until the registered association of traditional healers goes to the district to verify the honest healers from the unscrupulous ones.

Residents in Mukono also told investigators that Ssebuyungo and his accomplices had another shrine in Kiwungi village in Ssi Sub-county, Buikwe District which they abandoned a year ago.

Police did not say whether they would also search the abandoned shrine.
Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said one of the suspects, Wamala, had revealed to police that he often took young girls from his Nansana shrine to Kayunga shrine for offering to the gods.

“We arrested Wamala and while in detention at Naggalama Police Station, he confessed that he ferried eight women to this shrine. At the shrine, we recovered four bodies, a human skull and pots containing blood-like liquids but we suspect there could be more bodies in this shrine,” Mr Owoyesigyire said.

Women murders

He said police had not yet discovered the whereabouts of the said women but highly suspect they were murdered in ritual sacrifice within the shrine premises.

Last week police recovered the body of Allen Nakiyingi, a teacher in Kira Municipality in Wakiso District, buried in her lover’s house in Matugga town, in the same district.

She had gone missing for three weeks. The house in which Nakiyingi’s body was retrieved belonged to her boyfriend’s mother who is also a witch-doctor based in Kayunga District.

Purpose

Confessed: Ssebuyungo told security that they sacrificed human beings to woo many clients to their shrine.
The bodies, which had decomposed beyond recognition, were retrieved from shallow graves and a Shs5,000 note was placed on each of them.
Spears and pots of blood, suspected to have been drawn from human beings, were recovered at the shrine and taken to the Government Analytical Laboratory for investigation.
The bodies were taken to Mulago Hospital for DNA testing.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Source: Police find child skull in fresh search on shrines

And:

Locals destroy house, crops of Kayunga witch doctor’s mother
By Fred Muzaale
Daily Monitor
August 15, 2018

Residents of Kisoga village demolish Owen Ssebuyungo’s house on Tuesday. PHOTO BY STEPHEN OTAGE

Kayunga- Angry residents of Kisoga village, Nazigo Sub-county on Tuesday morning destroyed a house belonging to the mother of Owen Ssebuyungo, a witch doctor and key suspect in the murder of six people whose bodies were retrieved from his shrine on Monday.

The area LC2 chairperson, Mr Mohammed Kagimu, on Tuesday said the angry residents stormed Margaret Ssonko’s home at around 5am after the police, which had maintained presence in the area since Saturday, had left.

“Given the anger residents had, there was no way they could spare his parents’ home and crops,” Mr Kagimu said.

After destroying the home, they pounced on her garden and destroyed crops such as coffee and bananas. By 9am on Tuesday, residents were still seen cutting down the crops.

Fleeing for safety

Ms Ssonko reportedly fled the area a week ago after her son was arrested by Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence officers.

Ssebuyungo, together with three other suspects; Juniro Kibuuka, Fred Kiiza Semanda and Muhammed Wamala, are detained at Naggalama Division Police Station, according to Ms Jesca Naawe, the district police commander.

The Kayunga District Police Commander, Mr George Obia, criticised the residents for taking the law into their own hands.

He said on Monday evening, the police used a grader to excavate suspected crime points since tools such as hoes and mattock could not do the work in a short time possible.

He said apart from the child’s skull and bones that were recovered on Monday, no other bodies were found.“Our investigators have now gone to Nansana to search Mohammed Wamala’s shrine,” Mr Obia said.

Investigations

He, however, said investigations into the case have almost been concluded adding that the files would be taken to the resident state attorney today for perusal. “Most likely they will appear in court on Friday or latest on Monday,” he said.

Ms Naawe said the suspects will be transferred from Naggalama Police Station to Kayunga Police Station.

This incident has prompted the Resident District Commissioner Rose Birungi, who heads the district security committee to halt all activities of traditional healers in Kayunga district, located about 50 kilometres from Kampala.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com

Source: Locals destroy house, crops of Kayunga witch doctor’s mother

 

BBC crew mistaken for ritual killers in Malawi – narrowly escapes death

BBC crew mistaken for ritual killers in northern Malawi, narrowly escapes death (Click link at bottom of this page to watch film)

Investigation by: Anas Aremeyaw Anas, Henry Mhango and Darius Bazargan
Published: August 13, 2018

“BBC journalists investigating a series of mysterious murders in Malawi have narrowly escaped death.
The team were working undercover to expose men who claim to suck the blood of children to make get-rich amulets when they were attacked by a crowd of furious villagers.” – BBC Africa Eye

Anas Aremeyaw Anas, a well-known Ghanaian undercover journalist, and a BBC team composed of Henry Mango and Darius Bazargan, were investigating a series of mysterious murders in northern Malawi. The victims had been beheaded, certain body parts had been removed.
Mr and Mrs Moyo, the parents of one of the victims, are interviewed in the film (shown below). Investigative journalist Anas disguised as a rich businessman looking for witch doctors who allegedly use body parts as charms for wealthy clients. When filming secretly a witch doctor called Kamanga in Karonga, in norther Malawi, the villagers mistook the BBC crew for ritual killers and nearly killed them in an act of mob justice. Fortunately, the crew was saved by community police and a local chief.

Warning: the film contains disturbing images.

Source: BBC crew mistaken for ritual killers 
(click link to watch film)

Ghanaian undercover investigative reporter, Anas Aremeyaw Anas nearly died with his colleagues during his latest undercover piece “Malawi’s Human Harvest.”

Related articles:

How Anas nearly died in fresh Malawi exposé
GhanaWeb
August 13, 2018

Anas and colleagues escape lynching in Malawi in latest undercover job
GhanaWeb
August 2018

Anas Nearly Lynched in Malawi Whilst Investigating Ritual Murders
Ghafla!
August 14, 2018

Uganda – Government must study, check causes of ritual killings

I was completely flabbergasted reading this editorial article of a leading Ugandan newspaper. There’s hardly anything I can add, without risking to repeat its shocking observations and conclusions.

Read it yourself!
(webmaster FVDK)

“In the 2008 Annual Police Crime Report, 25 cases of ritual murders were reported. This increased to 29 cases the following year and it has not dropped.”

Published: June 28, 2018|
By Daily Monitor (Editor)

In Summary:
The issue: Ritual murders
Our view : Why does government allow such agents to trade witchcraft? They should be tasked to prove the efficacy of their claims to bring wealth or good fortune.

A local artiste in northern Uganda has been arrested on charges of killing his wife in ritual sacrifice. The reason for the killing was to gain fame and get rich. Several of his co-accused associates have also been arrested for their role in the crime. Whereas at this stage of the investigations the suspects are presumed innocent under our legal system, what is undisputed is that a woman was killed in ritual sacrifice, a primitive criminal practice that has been happening in the country for decades.

Every year, there is increasing incidence of the crime and there seems to be no effective measure to check it. In the 2008 Annual Police Crime Report, 25 cases of ritual murders were reported. This increased to 29 cases the following year and it has not dropped. Behind all these killings lies a single cause: Wealth. The belief in ritual wealth cuts across every social class ranging from the poorest, who live in slums and rural areas, to the rich and wealthy in towns.

These misguided and misinformed individuals believe that using witchcraft will bring them wealth/money and fame. They frequent witchdoctors’ shrines where they are manipulated or misguided to believe that witchcraft brings wealth if human beings are sacrificed and their blood and body parts poured at the altar of Satan.
This evil practice is thriving and growing because government departments, including Parliament and the law enforcement agencies, are sleeping on their job. For example, the Ugandan law does not allow practice of witchcraft.

However, everyday unscrupulous people claiming to possess witchcraft or supernatural powers, are advertising their services in the media purporting to cure all sorts of ailments and problems. The media is awash with their claims of power to make people rich, take away curses, bring fortune, cure evil spirits, etc. Government should task these witchdoctors to prove the efficacy of their claims, failure of which they should be checked or even arrested to account for their deception.
Why does government allow such agents to trade witchcraft? They should be tasked to prove the efficacy of their claims to bring wealth or good fortune. The government must check free spread of harmful falsehoods and evil propaganda.

These are some of the causes that perpetuate witchcraft and breed ritual killings. It appears their activities are justified in as long as they do not antagonise or threaten the existence of the State.
If they talked ill of government, they would not operate the following day. But they are now freely misguiding people with witchcraft and ritual killings in the futile search for evil wealth. Government must wake up or shut up on this evil.

Source: Government must study, check causes of ritual killings
Daily Monitor, June 28, 2018