News

Sierra Leone: Nurses Not Curses – Witchcraft Beliefs and Mental Health in Sierra Leone

Mental health is a serious problem in Sierra Leone, but there is still only one hospital equipped to deal with mental issues and there is a deep stigma around mental health.

A study of Sierra Leoneans’ perceptions of mental health in 2002 found that 25% thought psychological problems were due to substance abuse, 16% cited “God’s will” and 10% believed such conditions were associated with “spirits, curses or demons.” Many of these understandings and many of the stigmas around mental health still remain today.

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BANISHED – A scholar examines how the persecution of alleged witches in Africa has evolved into a human rights issue on a global scale, August 1, 2013

In 2010, an African woman petitioned for political asylum in the U.S. on what seemed to be rather far-fetched grounds: She claimed her life was in jeopardy because she had been accused of being a witch. The woman, who was from Guinea, said villagers believed she was a witch because she had given birth to an intersex child. The woman contended that she needed asylum because when she was a girl she had witnessed another accused witch burned alive.

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Witchcraft Accusation Rages in Northern Ghana – written by Leo Igwe

Northern Ghana is a region charged with allegations of witchery, spiritual possession and attack. Witchcraft is at the root of a silent battle, an ongoing  war that has torn apart families and communities, internally displaced many  people, turning them into refugees in their own land. In the past three weeks there have been three cases of accusation within the regional capital, Tamale, alone. This article is based on three cases of accusation currently under study in the area.

See full report here

Swaziland: Muti Found on Jan, ‘Bomber’ Robbery Suspects

Royal Swaziland Police (RSP) officers found muti on the suspects arrested for the robberies of parliamentarians Jan Sithole and Adam ‘Bomber’ Mthethwa. Sithole is the Member of Parliament for Manzini North, while Mthethwa is a Senator and also the Football Association (FA) President.

The officers from the Serious Crimes Unit (Lukhozi) and Criminal Investigations Department (CID) found the muti after they had arrested the four suspects on Friday and Saturday. Reliable sources confirmed that the muti was found tied in a cloth on the suspect’s waists and hands after they had allegedly consulted a traditional healer from around Manzini. Read more here

India: Bhayandar’s fake ‘Baba’ in cop net

The State Government had recently passed the stringent Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Bill, however this does not seem to deter the breed of glib-talking ‘babas’ who continue to trap the gullible, boasting of super natural powers.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Wing (AHTW) of the Thane (rural) police arrested a self-styled god man along with his three accomplices including a woman who operated from a plush office near the railway station in Bhayandar (East). Read more here

India: 45-year-old woman stabbed at Birkera-Tongritoli Village over witchcraft charges

A woman, whose children accused some people of calling her witch , has been killed by unknown persons in Gumla district, the police said on Monday.

The body, bearing stab signs, of forty five-year-old Bitni Devi, was recovered in the morning, the police said. Read more here

Swaziland: Mob Attacks Gogo on Witchcraft Allegations

An old woman was lucky to survive a mob attack after she was allegedly found loitering at a neighbour’s homestead at night.
This has left the Madlangempisi community rocked by witchcraft fears.

According to an informed source, Gogo *Mahambakancane was found at around 10pm wearing a huge coat and carrying something in her back pockets filled with an unknown substance. The source said the old woman was seen by three men who had been seated near the Magongo homestead on Sunday night. Read more here

India: Cops take preventive action against tantrik

The Indiranagar police took preventive action against Pandit Swaroopkumar Sheshnarayan Upadhyay (33), of Prabha Pushpa Apartment, Indiranagar, after he was granted bail by a local court in connection with a case under the Maharashtra Prevention of Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Ordinance 2013.

According to a complaint lodged by Sarika Patil (35) of Rajiv Nagar, the accused had told her and her friend Shraddha Shah that they were facing problems in their lives as someone had performed black magic on them. Read more here

Ghana: Interfaith Lessons Learned from a Witch Camp

Kukuo, in northern Ghana, is home to a camp for alleged witches.  Women who have been accused of witchcraft come there looking for safety.  They come looking because if they stay home they are in danger of beatings, torture, and even death.  Often the women who arrive at Kukuo have already suffered at the hands of their neighbors, friends, and family. They come seeking safety and they find it.

The safety comes from the local belief in the special nature of the land.  Kukuo is built on land connected to small gods that makes Kukuo a peaceful place.  This was explained to us by the chief of the village during our first meeting in Kukuo.  It was elaborated on when we met with the fetish priest who facilitates cleansing rituals for the alleged witches that neutralize their power.  One alleged witch told us she came to Kukuo—as opposed to the another camp for alleged witches—because Kukuo is a peaceful place. Read more here

India: Girl branded witch, thrown out of school

The district administration on Sunday ordered an inquiry after a seven-year-old tribal girl of Telkoi Talasahi Primary School, was allegedly sent back home on the suspicion of being a witch the previous day.

Sources said she went to school after the Xmas holidays, but the teachers stopped her from entering the hostel and instead asked her to leave. Read more here