News

India: Witch hunting: Victims of superstition

The National Crime Records Bureau says 2,097 murders were committed between 2000 and 2012 where witch hunting was the motive.  Apart from Jharkhand, at least 11 other states—Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Assam and Bihar—still report cases of witch hunting.

Once practised only by tribal communities, witch hunting is now becoming common among Dalits and other minority communities.

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Kenya: Kisii suspected witch doctors in hiding for fear of being killed

A video reporting on current conditions in Kenya which have resulted in more people turning to pastors to receive help in times of trouble, than to witch doctors, who were popular in the past. As the video notes, “the line between Christianity and witchcraft is thin at best”, highlighting the tensions between pastors and witch doctors.

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South Africa: Residents terrified after ‘satanic’ murders

The South African Council of Churches’ Gauteng secretary, The Reverend Gift Moerane, was going to hold a prayer service at the place where the bodies of schoolgirls Thandeka Moganetsi, 14, and Chwayita Rathazayo, 15, were found in a ditch after an apparent satanic ritual killing.

Moerane said families had to be mindful of the activities in which their children were involved. He slammed individuals and groups who killed in the name of Satan. “There is this campaigning and movement of people who claim they are Satanists, which I don’t support. We don’t have a religion in this country called Satanism. It’s the behaviour of people who support the wrong spirits and think that this country is a banana republic,” he said.

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Zimbabwe: Man stones uncle to death over witchcraft

A Gutu man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for stoning his 71 year-old uncle to death, accusing him of practicing witchcraft in the family.

He had denied murder with actual intent arguing he only retaliated with anger after the uncle, Shadreck Muhwava, swore that he would not live to see the next day.

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South Africa: Limpopo witchcraft victim to be laid to rest

A Limpopo pensioner who was burnt to death, allegedly by community members who accused her of witchcraft, will be laid to rest at Shimawuswa village outside Giyani, early on Saturday. 

The 61-year-old Mamayila Nkuna was accused of witchcraft after a man was found dead in the village two weeks ago. 

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Kenya: Celebrity reveals how he was asked for human sacrifice

A local musician has told that he is on the run fearing for his life after he declined to give a human sacrifice of a close relative in exchange for money and fame. “I am running away from Kenya in fear of my life,” the artiste known as Robinson Opiyo whose stage name is Rio-D said. He says that his life took a strange turn two months ago when his friend, a fellow musician approached him with an offer that could catapult him to a world of fame and riches. 

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South Africa: Ritual murder suspects to appear in court

Two 16-year-old teenage boys accused of killing two Soweto schoolgirls, allegedly as part of a satanic ritual, are expected to appear in the Protea Magistrates Court this morning.

The bodies of 15-year-old Chwayita Rathazayo and 16-year old Thandeka Moganetsi were discovered on Wednesday morning by a community member who was passing by a field in the Dobsonville area. The police’s Neville Malila says the boys were arrested at the George Khosa Secondary School yesterday, which is the same school which the victims attended.

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India: Police rule out human sacrifice in Vazhapadi schoolgirl murder

A day after the body of a Class V schoolgirl was found hanging from a tree in Perumal Kovil Karadu near Vazhapadi, the district police are clueless on the motive of the murder, but said it could be a case of sexual assault.

Superintendent of Police R. Sakthivel, who conducted an inquiry in the victim’s village in Chendrampalayam on Sunday told The Hindu that five special teams were formed to investigate the case. He ruled out the possibility of human sacrifice.

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South Africa: Satanic killings: Friends fear they might be next

South Africa: Teenage girls found dead in Dobsonville

Two 16-year-old girls dressed in school uniform have been found dead in a field off Braam Fischer Drive in Dobsonville, Soweto.

The girls were found with deep cuts on their necks and bodies. Candles and bloodied razors that looked brand new were found close to the bodies.

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