Witch doctors 'sacrificing children' to appease spirits and end crippling drought
Police are hunting for the person or people responsible for an eight-year-old boy's death in Africa after his body was found without teeth, ears and genitals.
Authorities are investigating the possibility his death could be the result of a human sacrifice ritual performed by witch doctors in Uganda in East Africa.
It's believed Ugandans are performing the rituals wanting to appease the spirits in the drought-ridden country to bring quick wealth and health, USA Today reports.
Jackline Mukisa held back tears as she described her eight-year-old son's death.
“My innocent son died a painful death,” Mukisa, told USA Today.
“How could somebody intend to murder my son?”
Among the rituals performed by doctors, human sacrifice, especially of children, occurs frequently despite government efforts to stop it.
Although it's believed seven children and two adults were sacrificed last year, experts believe that number could be much higher.
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It's understood the country is going through its worst drought in over half a century, with more than 11 million people in the nation facing food insecurity and at least 1.6 million on the brink of famine, leading people to want to improve their fortunes.
“There is no food due to the ongoing drought, and some believe that this has been brought by ancestral spirits,” traditional healer Joel Mugoya said.
“So there is a high desire for people to conduct sacrifices so that they come out of this problem.”
Man beheads brother hoping for good fortune
Police have recently arrested 44 suspects in connection with a spate of killings of children and women.
And last year police arrested Herbert Were, a resident of Busia town in eastern Uganda, for beheading his eight-year-old brother, Joel Ogema.
Were, 21, confessed to police that he killed his brother in hopes of attaining wealth.
Uganda Police Inspector General Kale Kayihura said it's a problem they're working to address alongside the government.
“It’s a brutal ritual that destroys the lives of our children and affects their parents mentally,” he said.
“We are working with the police to arrest witch doctors involved in the ritual.
"We are also assisting the survivors financially and with moral support.”
Mukisa said she believes the government aren't helping.
“They should arrest people who murdered my son,” she said.
“The government is doing little to protect our children. They must begin to arrest all witch doctors.”
