Advance Fee Fraud, popularly known as “419” in Nigeria, is not news to an average countryman. However, what many are unaware of is the deeper dimensions it has taken in some parts of the country. Read more here.
Two elderly women have been beheaded in front of a crowd of onlookers in Papua New Guinea in the latest of a spate of brutal attacks in the country against people accused of witchcraft. Read more here.
Article on the annual Voodoo festival at Souvenance, a small village outside of Gonaives. Souvenance was formed by escaped and freed slaves from Dahomey (present day Benin) about two hundred years ago. During this week at Souvenance all of the Rada Iwa, or Voodoo spirits of Dahomey origin, are honored through different ceremonies, song and dance. Read more here.
Ghosts exist and black magic works. At least in Bollywood, where the upcoming Ek Thi Daayan is the latest in the list of films on witches, occult and the like, much to the dismay of women’s groups who argue that witch hunting is not entertainment but a tragic fact that has led to women being targeted and even killed. Read more here.
News article discussing the extent to which Juju is used by Ghanaian musicians. See more here.
Keeping satanic symbols, speaking in tongues and performing weird rituals were the things Grace Tommy (37) was exposed to while she was in a relationship with her killer, Samantha Mitchell (38), who was sentenced yesterday to 15 years’ imprisonment. Read more here.
For Madame Christine, a 62 year-old woman accused of witchcraft, the barazas were a life line. In the village of Kikongo a mob gathered in the street to burn down the house of the suspected witch. Madame Christine went to the local police accusing ex-soldier Joseph of perpetrating the crusade against her. The police arrested him without trial. This enraged his fellow ex-soldiers so they marched to the local prison to destroy it and free their friend. Read more here.
The Criminal Code — inherited from 1918 Dutch colonialists — is to be revised. The government has proposed a new bill to the House of Representatives for deliberation. The bill has sparked controversy as it includes witchcraft in the penal code, categorizing it as a criminal offense punishable under the law. Read more here.
DHANGADI: In another shocking case of witchcraft, an elderly woman of Beladevipur VDC of Kalali district was mercilessly beaten and abused after being charged with practicing witchcraft, on Friday. Read more here.
Authorities in Papua New Guinea must take urgent action to prevent and punish ‘sorcery’-related violence, following reports six women and a man were abducted and subjected to acts of appalling cruelty, by a group who accused them of witchcraft. Read more here.
