A Village headman in Kabanda compound of Mwinilunga district in North-western province has allegedly been axed to death by an angry mob of mourners on suspicion of practicing witchcraft.
District commissioner Harrison Kamuna confirmed the incident in an interview yesterday and identified the deceased as Mr. Albert Katooka who was village headman katooka.
The incident occurred today, November 17th, 2022 around 15:00 hours after an angry mob of mourners returned from the burial of a woman identified as Exildah Kayenda whom the deceased is alleged to have killed through witchcraft over a land dispute.
“They suspected him of having killed Exildah Kayenda who was buried this morning over a land dispute” Mr. Kamuna said.
He explained that the deceased is reported to have been axed to death behind the head about 500 meters away from his home using an axe he had carried as he was running away from the mob.
Mr. Kamuna added that before axing him to death, the mob started by vandalizing his house and killed some of his goats and chickens.
“The mob went further to harass and kill some of his goats and chickens,” he said.
Police have since visited the crime scene and picked the body and deposited it in Mwinilunga district hospital mortuary, while no arrest has been made.
Typical village mentality
This primitive problem of accusing people, mostly old people of being witches can easily solved in een intelligent Nigerian way. In Nigeria the government invented and introduced safe houses for the accused. There they involve the so-called witch doctors to cleanse the accused in the traditional way and in presence of those who come with such accusations from such villages. One convincing ritual is to slaughter a chicken to the so called spirits to drive way the witchcraft powers. This way of repenting get widely accepted and the accused get accepted again in such a village. This is a cheapest and just way. Instead of slaughtering innocent, elderly human beings. Witch craft is a primitive fantasy which never exist.
I think this could work. It’s some sort of truth and reconciliation exercise. It sounds like a purely African solution
killed on suspected witchcraft?