The headless body of a woman in her early twenties was recovered from the Subarnarekha near here on Thursday evening in what could be a case of human sacrifice.
The head of the body was yet to be found though police recovered an axe suspected to have been used to commit the crime.
Read more here
The Northern Regional House of Chiefs has set up a committee to oversee the re-integration of alleged witches detained in six witch camps in the Northern region.
This follows intense calls by Action Aid Ghana to free the alleged witches.
Already, series of sensitization programmes have been held for families of the alleged witches to avoid stigmatisation when the so-called witches are finally re-integrated.
Read more here
A woman cradling her baby, a young girl playing with her mother on the grass and a group of friends smiling for the camera.
Innocent scenes they may be, but these Tanzanians are in grave danger from all walks of life from fishermen and miners to witch doctors and murderers simply because they are albino.
Regarded as the ‘tribe of ghosts’ or ‘the invisibles’, albinos have suffered appalling treatment at the hands of their own people who butcher them for their body parts in the disturbingly mistaken belief they will bring them better health and good fortune.
Read more here
A witch doctor persuaded a woman to have an abortion by claiming the unborn child was evil and seriously deformed, a fraud trial has heard.
Juliette D’Souza pretended to be a shaman who could cure terminal illnesses and help women conceive babies, it was said.
The phoney faith healer tricked the woman into parting with £170,000 after she became increasingly desperate to fall pregnant, the jury was told.
Read more here
The two men pierced the body of their victim with a knife and have his blood drawn when he was still alive. The bloody deed took place last week at Maraïvessa, a village near Moulengui-Bindza, in the region of Mongo (province of Nyanga, South of Gabon).
The battered body of the victim was found in a creek where the killers threw it to simulate drowning.
Read more here
As in communities across the world, people in Guaruja, near Sao Paulo, often get their news fix from local Facebook pages rather than newspapers. Guaruja Alerta is one of the most popular, with more than 50,000 likes. But a series of posts on the page has now been blamed for a terrible murder.
On Saturday, Fabiane Maria de Jesus, a 33-year-old mother of two, was attacked by a mob using stones and heavy sticks and then – shockingly – lynched in broad daylight. This gruesome attack was filmed by people on their phones and posted online. De Jesus died from her injuries on Monday, and her lawyers allege that the Guaruja Alerta Facebook page was responsible for her killing.
Read more here
They were adjudged to be witches in the court of public opinion. No charge sheet was required or defence needed. The only punishment which could calm the angry neighbours was death.
Muthike Ndegwa (76), his wife, Muthoni Muthike(70) and their five children and a grandson, had been slaughtered and their bodies set ablaze by the mob. When the killers came calling on the family at around 2am, they were determined that nobody would be allowed to escape. After all, every member of the homestead was guilty of ‘practicing witchcraft’.
Read more here
A 24-year-old man of Boqate village in Ha-Mohasoa on Thursday allegedly stabbed to death two elderly women he accused of casting a spell on him. The women, aged 70 and 72, were stabled 14 and five times respectively, and died on the spot.
The District Commissioner of Maseru Urban Police, Senior Superintendent Mofokeng Kolo, on Friday told the Sunday Express the man had accused the women ofcausing his epileptic condition.
According to Senior Superintendent Kolo, the suspect, who was severely assaulted by local residents following the gruesome homicides, had since been charged with murder.
Read more here
The high rate of violence against the elderly accused of witchcraft, which is ripe in northeastern Lunda Norte province, is worrying priest Colm Reidy who described the phenomenon as very unsettling.
Speaking to Angop, the priest stated that the matter of witchcraft in Lunda Norte has been on the Catholic Church agenda that is promoting a debate among the believers seeking to transmit to them good values that must be observed by the citizens to live in harmony.
Read more here
This chart is based on data from police reports and compiled in the annual Tanzania Human Rights Reports, published by the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC). The latest report, covering 2013, was published a couple of weeks ago.
The report explains how these killings often happen:
“people accused of practising witchcraft have been punished by mob justice which in many instances have led to killings of the accused persons. The most affected members of the society have been women, especially those of an old age.”
See the chart and read more here
