A report ran on the BBC detailing harrowing cases of people being attacked for body parts destined for the muti trade, as well as witch doctors who had been involved in the practice:

A BBC investigation into human sacrifice in Uganda has heard first-hand accounts which suggest ritual killings of children may be more common than authorities have acknowledged.

One witch-doctor led us to his secret shrine and said he had clients who regularly captured children and brought their blood and body parts to be consumed by spirits.

Meanwhile, a former witch-doctor who now campaigns to end child sacrifice confessed for the first time to having murdered about 70 people, including his own son.

The Ugandan government told us that human sacrifice is on the increase, and according to the head of the country's Anti-Human Sacrifice Taskforce the crime is directly linked to rising levels of development and prosperity, and an increasing belief that witchcraft can help people get rich quickly.

This is interesting, as one might expect people to fall back on the occult in times of crisis but people are resorting to muti out of greed.

The whole thing was pretty horrific, from the admissions of a campaigner to get witchdoctors to repent:

Former witch-doctor turned anti-sacrifice campaigner Polino Angela says he has persuaded 2,400 other witch-doctors to give up the trade since he himself repented in 1990.

Mr Angela told us he had first been initiated as a witch-doctor at a ceremony in neighbouring Kenya, where a boy of about 13 was sacrificed.

"The child was cut with a knife on the neck and the entire length from the neck down was ripped open, and then the open part was put on me," he said.

When he returned to Uganda he says he was told by those who had initiated him to kill his own son, aged 10.

"I deceived my wife and made sure that everyone else had gone away and I was with my child alone. Once he was placed down on the ground, I used a big knife and brought it down like a guillotine."

Also a small boy had his penis stolen:

One such witness is a three-year-old boy called Mukisa, who was left for dead after his penis was hacked off by an assailant.

He survived thanks to quick work by surgeons, and later told police he had been mutilated by a neighbour who is known to keep a shrine.

Mukisa's mother told us: "Every time I look at him, I ask myself how his future is going to be - a man without a penis - and how the rest of the community will look at him, with private parts that can neither be attributed to a man or a woman. Every time I recall the normal birth that I had and the way Mukisa is now, it is like the end of the world."

The full video is on the BBC's site but for the moment you can see it here (if I can get this complicated code to work):

Source

Hat tip

there was a bit of a follow-up on the campaigner's confession in the local press:

Vincent Oling, who worked as a translator during Angela’s confession, said that his arrest would not solve the problem.

“I was so depressed by his confession but I think he will be resourceful in giving the nation clues and identifying the people behind this practice since he said there are others at large,” said Oling, who also works with the Justice and Peace Commission in Lira.

“I was shocked when I heard this story. But his conscience was clear, the fact that he has already managed to convert over 2,000 former murderers is good enough…,” added Ms Eunice Apio, the FAPAD executive director.

“Other than looking for skulls and detaining him, let us engage his willingness. The Police should use him to trace other murderers at large,” she added. Others, however, called for his prosecution.

“His preaching can’t take away the crimes he has committed against humanity, if there is evidence of the offences against him he may not escape the law,” said Anselm Wandega, the head of policy advocacy at ANPPCAN Uganda Chapter.

He, however, called on the government to put in place a law that regulates activities of traditional healers, saying the 1958 Witch Craft Act is outdated.
“The case shows the urgency that is required to have the law in place, it will differentiate the genuine healers from quacks,” he said.

Moses Binoga, head of the Police anti-Human Sacrifice Task Force, said they had on Friday opened a file for the accused in Amolatar District, were Angela is said to be living.“We want to first ascertain the allegations and establish the facts, whether there is or no complainant against him,” Binoga said.

Source

Hat tip

As we've seen many times here this is a genuine problem but so are witch-hunts which usually target the elderly or minorities. Thankfully, it sounds like everyone here is taking a measured approach to proceedings.