Until recently I was blissfully ignorant of the burning of suspected witches in Africa. This is an unbelievable problem, and one that is not getting sufficient attention. Apparently Kenya, specifically the area around Kisii, is plagued with witch burnings.
In May 2008, eleven people were burned to death,
The mob dragged them out of their houses and burned them individually and then set their homes alight, our correspondent says. Enoch Obiero, a Pentecostal minister, says the mob came to his door and dismembered his wife, a retired schoolteacher.
In February 2009, five people were burnt to death, (video below, caution the video is disturbing)
“They include four women and a man in their 80’s who were accused of having abducted a child,” Kisii deputy police Commander Manasseh Musyoka said yesterday.
This practice has been ongoing for some time in this area,
In 1993, eight elderly people from Kisii were also accused of witchcraft and burned to death in their huts by a mob.
These killings are not limited to the Kisii area, witch burnings have also occurred in the Malindi district of Kenya. From the Daily Nation,
“I can confirm that seven elderly people have been lynched on suspicion of practicing witchcraft in my Gongoni Location in a relatively short time,” said district officer Patrick ole Ntutu.According to statistics from the local police station, at least 14 elderly people had been killed between last year and January in Magarini constituency alone. . . . In just two months, five elderly people have been hacked to death by gangs of youths purporting to be cleansing the villages of witchcraft.
A government official in Kenya commented on the burning of 15 women accused of being witches,
“This is unacceptable. People must not take the law into their own hands simply because they suspected someone,” said Mwangi Ngunyi, the head of Nyamaiya district. “We will hunt the suspects down,” he added.
Though he condemned vigilante acts, Mr. Ngunyi stated that the government will hunt the suspects down. Suspects? These people are suspected of being witches. How in the world is the government going to “hunt” these people? This also reveals that government officials believe in witchcraft. What can possibly be done to stop these horrific murders if government officials believe in witches?
This is abhorrent and must be stopped.
A final word of caution: this video is graphic and disturbing.
yojoe out
Filed under: Law | Tagged: 2009 africa witch hunt burning video, african witch burning video, burning of witches, burning witches africa, burning witches kenya video, kenya, kenya burning of witches, kenya witch burning 2009, wiches africa, witch burning, witch burning video, witch burnings, witchcraft, witchcraft africa, witchcraft video, witches |
Dreadnaught 
[…] Dreadnaught added an interesting post today on Burning Of Witches In Africa: Video Of Accused Witches Being MurderedHere’s a small readingUntil recently I was blissfully ignorant of the burning of suspected witches in Africa. This is an unbelievable problem, and one that is not getting sufficient attention. Apparently Kenya, specifically the area around Kisii, is plagued with witch burnings. In May 2008, eleven people were burned to death,The mob dragged them out of their houses and burned them individually and then set their homes alight, our correspondent says. Enoch Obiero, a Pentecostal minister, says the mob came to his […]
These men, women and children were accused of practicing Witchcraft between 2000 and 2008. They were harassed, assaulted, murdered or banished from their homes by relatives, friends and neighbors.
Simon Magagula (30)
Mamlothana Ndoda
Manqoma Novumile Tyebisa
Makhemu Ngema (65)
Mbhejile Sibiya (28)
Hlengiwe Ntuli (20)
Samukelisiwe Masikane (7)
Khanyisane Ngema (6)
Siyabonga Masikane (3)
Maria Ngcobo (76)
Amoni Mokoena (67)
Lina Magagula
Matome Molele (67)
Grace Chabalala (80)
Hlalaphi Malandula (45)
Mphatsi Mazibuko
August Micas Khoza (65)
Madudu Shandu (57)
Bongekile Zungu (59)
Ntombizanele Combo (45)
Sibulele Combo (6)
NONE of these victims were or are Witches!
This is by no means a complete list of victims of Witchcraft accusations in South Africa. Many reported cases do not mention the victim’s names. Most incidences of Witchcraft-related violence are not reported as Witch-hunts.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world!
South African law prohibits making accusations of Witchcraft.
But South African politicians keep making accusations of Witchcraft publicly on party-political platforms…
On 15 December 2008 Jacob Zuma, President of the African National Congress (ANC), addressing thousands of ANC supporters in Dan Qeqe stadium in Zwide, Port Elizabeth (Eastern Cape), called the leaders of the newly formed rival political party, the Congress of the People (COPE), Witches. “It is better when you have an enemy that you don’t know. If you know the enemy, then it is more difficult. In Zulu we refer to a form of witchcraft called ukuphehla amanzi, where your enemy would mix dirt from your body in a calabash and stick a spear into the mixture to cause you sharp body pains. When the witch is a family member, we know that it’s more dangerous than an enemy from outside.” Zacob Zuma
On the same day, Ntombizanele Combo (45) and her grand daughter Sibulele Combo (6) were burned to death by two men in a Christmas day Witch-hunt in Timane village near Dutywa (Eastern Cape).
“Our mothers are taken, house to house, they are also paraded on TV, these people are performing witchcraft with our mothers….They are liars. You can’t have respect for people who use older people in that fashion.” Tokyo Sexwale
January 2009. Sexwale was speaking at an ANC rally in Zwide township, outside Port Elizabeth.
The South African Press Code determines that the press should avoid discriminatory or denigratory references to people’s religion and refrain from referring to a person’s religion in a prejudicial or pejorative context.
When a border collie puppy, which had been buried alive with two spears inserted into its body, was discovered at Camps Drift near the Msunduzi River, The Witness reported that a well-known Imbali-based traditional healer Schoeman Xulu viewed the discovery as the worst form of witchcraft. Xulu is quoted as saying, “The perpetrators were trapping someone to death. Witches use black chickens and dogs and colourful candles to kill their targets. I feel sorry for whoever the practice was directed at.” July 2008
When a traditional herbalist suspected his rival of being more popular than him, The Vaal Weekly reported the unnamed inyanga as saying “I have caught many witches here in my yard and you will be surprised who does these thing as these are usually trusted community members who become monsters at night… Evil exists, what that witch is doing to the child is evil and must be stopped as soon as possible, she is not an inyanga but a killer”. August 2008.
But the South African press claims the right to defame Witches through negatively stereotyping Witchcraft by publishing fabricated hearsay as evidence.
The South African Bill of Rights prohibits hate speech against religious minorities.
But South African intellectuals promote hatred of Witches by defining them as a threat to society.
The Ralushai Commission’s report defined the term Witch to mean a person who …through sheer malice, either consciously or subconsciously, employs magical means to inflict all manner of evil on their fellow human beings. They destroy property, bring disease or misfortune and cause death, often entirely without provocation to satisfy their inherent craving for evil doing. 1995.
“A witch is a person who is endowed with powers of causing illness or ill luck or death to the person that he wants to destroy.“ Professor Ralushai. 1999.
The Mpumalanga Witchcraft Suppression Bill define Witchcraft as …the secret use of muti, zombies, spells, spirits, magic powders, water, mixtures, etc, by any person with the purpose of causing harm, damage, sickness to others or their property. 2007.
Throughout Africa Witches are feared and reviled.
In 2008 and 2009 Nigerian Evangelical pastors accused hundreds of children of being Witches and increasing numbers of children are being forced to live on the streets as a result of being banished from their homes.
In January 2009 Tanzania banned Witchcraft.
In February 2009 Gambian authorities rounded up over 1,000 people and forced them to drink hallucinogens in a witch-hunt campaign.
The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights declares that every human being shall be entitled to respect for his or her life and integrity of his or her person, and that all forms of exploitation and degradation shall be prohibited.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees that everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he or she has had all the guarantees necessary for his or her defense.
If you are a Witch, or accused of being a Witch in Africa, no matter what your human rights are, you will NOT receive a fair trial, you will NOT be afforded an opportunity to protest your innocence, and you WILL suffer the consequences of centuries of cultural and religious prejudice and fear against Witchcraft.
Witch-hunts are motivated by beliefs. Beliefs lead to action.
Beliefs that instill fear often motivate violence in response to a perceived threat, whether or not that threat is real of merely imagined.
Maintaining and reinforcing discriminatory and prejudicial definitions of Witchcraft promotes violence.
Prejudice against Witchcraft in Africa is motivated by cultural and religious beliefs that are based on false and defamatory urban legends.
Cultural practices and religious beliefs that promote the murder of innocents on the basis of belief must not be tolerated in any society!
Freedom of belief and religion does not mean freedom to falsely accuse and persecute others.
Those who use their beliefs to motivate or justify prejudice, discrimination, intimidation, assault, arson and murder against suspected Witches are guilty of crimes against humanity.
“Ubuntu is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong. It speaks about wholeness, it speaks about compassion. A person with ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, willing to share. Such people are open and available to others, willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others, do not feel threatened that others are able and good, for they have a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that they belong in a greater whole. They know that they are diminished when others are humiliated, diminished when others are oppressed, diminished when others are treated as if they were less than who they are. The quality of ubuntu gives people resilience, enabling them to survive and emerge still human despite all efforts to dehumanize them.” Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
WITCHES ARE PEOPLE!
In Africa the only people who use the word ‘Witch’ to define themselves are South African citizens who call their religion ‘Witchcraft’.
In South Africa Witches constitute a small but visible religious minority.
In 2007 a majority of South African Witches elected to reclaim the terms Witch and Witchcraft.
South African Witches define Witchcraft as a Pagan mystery religion that employs the use of sympathetic magic, ritual, herbalism and divination.
We demand our constitutional right to freedom of belief and religion.
We demand the right to live and work in safety.
We demand the right to equality and dignity.
30 days of Advocacy against Witch-hunts
29 March to April 27 2009
Speak out against religious discrimination and end Witchcraft-related Violence in Africa.
TouchStone Advocacy
http://touchstoneadvocacy.ning.com/
Mr. Leff –
Thank you for the comment and the additional information.
Just saw the video– wow. I wonder how many of the murders made it to the uSA and rec’d asylum
[…] quote a litany of unethical behavior produced by religion? The burning of the witches in Salem and more recently in Africa. The Inquisition comes to mind, and more recently the War in Gaza. All of these are examples of […]
Gaza blows, whales blow, Nazi buildings blow, witches blow. Most posters here BLOW. The jar heads that post are at least amuzing. But you windbag do gooders are BORING. No one cares what you (or I) think about anything. Your parents paid too much attention to you- Bustard is an orphan so he too craves attention
So I am retiring Bustard (RIP) from dreadnaught and will read the Onion for professonal satire.
Bustard Gregario 2009-2010
“Gone too soon”
What is happening in Kenya is tragic. And once again — what is the actual cause of the witch hysteria? The ancient propaganda created by Christianity! Especially the teaching of the Catholic church. It started in the medieval time and it’s still going on now… Ever since the church started to “spread” their word( aka brainwashing) in Africa, good spiritual people are the victims of discrimination and violence, based on other religions’ bigotry… “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” Exodus 22:18.
thats right, burn those witches. they deserve it. shut up nola
Kyle, no-one deserves to be set alight and burnt ! Not for any reason !
Kyle, your an absolute fucking retard – you actually believe they were witches? People like you should be locked away, cause I can honestly say people like you are good for fucking nothing.
[…] while celebrating spear dances and ancestor worship. Two of them are harmless? Tell that to the witch-burning child torturers. If it wasn’t for their services, Africa would be overrun with spell casters! […]
fucking group of monkey..good 4 noting africa u burning fellow human even goat are killed b4 burning..they dont even think of the fire pains on this peoples..GOD of mercy ll surely punish +.
[…] while celebrating spear dances and ancestor worship. Two of them are harmless? Tell that to the witch-burning child torturers. If it wasn’t for their services, Africa would be overrun with spell casters! […]
[…] Witch-burning in Africa: “The mob dragged them out of their houses and burned them individually and then set their homes alight…The mob came to his door and dismembered his wife, a retired schoolteacher.” […]
How can we help stop people from doing this to other people? The link I tried to go to is not up…is there another group trying to help? Anyone? I will book mark this page and check back to see if anyone has replied. Namaste’
See the following for more information…
South African Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA) – Stakeholder Submission to the United Nations Officer of the High Commissioner for Human Rights – Universal Periodic Review
Thirteenth Session of the Working Group on the UPR (21 May – 4 June 2012)
Title: South African government ignores victims of witch-hunts !
South African Pagan Rights Alliance
http://www.paganrightsalliance.org/press.html
’30 days of advocacy against witch-hunts’ 29 March to 27 April (annual)
http://www.paganrightsalliance.org/30_days.html
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