Top 10 African Countries at Practicing Witchcraft or Juju

 

       

Does witchcraft have a place in modern society? 

In Africa, witchcraft has played a role in rebellions, fighting wars, gaining independence and is often seen at election time.

Some people also consult witchdoctors to cure diseases or find a husband.

However, the practise has negative sides – mutilated bodies are often found in Africa, with their organs removed presumably for use in magic charms. And recently in the UK, three people were jailed over the torture of an eight-year-old Angolan girl they accused of being a possessed witch.

Witchcraft is clearly evident in all of the countries I have lived in. In Zimbabwe the only person immune from witches it seems is the president himself, and that is because he can afford stronger portions from all over Africa. In South Africa are the most feared witches. In Botswana the witches are there but they are not that skilled. In Zambia and Malawi you can easily be murdered in the night by witches. In England, UK I attended witches meetings in a little town of Leek in 1996, and again in Highlane Burslem in Stoke on Trent. The witches were convinced they had special powers.
Benson Magaba, Zimbabwe

Witchcraft is absolutely vital in African society. It shapes our norms, values and tradition. We should not allow the negative effect of witchcraft and forget the enormous positive ones. This is a tradition of our back ground and no-one should shy away from it because negativity of it has been echoed in London or other parts of the world.

Take a look, Islam and Christianity have been imported to Africa centuries ago which is intended to replace our ancestors’ traditions and values. Now you can’t believe your eyes, in Nigeria thousands of people are killed each year as a result of these imported religions (someone’s culture). I have seen witchdoctors curing people who have been told by modern doctors that they have no chances of surviving.
James Nyikole, Sudanese in Australia

10. Tanzania

Tanzania is a land of some very different beliefs. One such belief of so-called witch doctors in this east African nation is that albino body parts are good ingredients for the magical potions the witches concoct. As a result, albinos in Tanzania face widespread persecution. According to reports by BBC, one woman with albinism was found hacked to death in May 2014 in a village called Gasuma. Two witch doctors were suspected of performing the heinous crime and were promptly arrested. Prior to this incident, an article on care2.com mentioned the deaths of around 600 women in 2011, all charged with witchcraft. 

9. Gambia

How can a country rise above the inhuman practice of witch hunting when its very own president orders the gruesome acts himself? Gambia’s faith-healer-turned-dictator Yahya Jammeh, has taken to eradicating citizens who get in his way and uses witch hunting as a front for his actions. Articles appeared on The Telegraph in 2012 and care2.com in 2013 stating similar accounts of the goings-on in Gambia. Purportedly blending statecraft with witchcraft, Jammeh had 1,000 so-called sorcerers arrested and drink a hallucinogenic potion to exorcise their supposedly possessed bodies and minds. At least six died in this torture ritual.

8. Papua New Guinea

Burning women accused of witchcraft has been so alarmingly prevalent in Papua New Guinea that a law was passed by the government to prohibit burning those suspected of performing dark magic, according to the ABC News online site. As reported by Vice News, women have taken to fleeing their homes in fear of being captured and condemned for acts they didn’t perform. Four women in Enga province left their village posthaste after a witch hunter accused them of causing a measles outbreak, which killed several of the villagers. In 2013, one woman was burned alive and another beheaded in public for purportedly practicing witchcraft, marking the alarming increase of atrocious murders due to sorcery. 

7. Uganda

It’s not just women who are accused of being witches. As stated in an article on care2.com, a man in Uganda was believed to be dabbling in dark magic and he was promptly tied up and beheaded for it. There have been several more cases like this, all due to the fact that the locals firmly believe that witchcraft is being practiced by some of their fellowmen. Then there are the wily ones who simply use witchcraft as an excuse to get rid of people they hold a grudge against. 

 

I actually know a witch who travels to London regularly from Uganda to ‘cleanse people’. You would never in your wildest dreams believe that she is a witch. She even promised to give me medicine that can make me get a visa if I decide that I want to go to London. However my Christian background refrains me from believing in what she does, so I opted out of that offer.
Juliet O, Uganda

6. Ghana

According to a news article by The Guardian in 2010, there’s a new rise in punishment due to witchcraft in the African nation of Ghana, where sorcery forms part of the country’s mythology. A 72-year-old woman was burned to death by six people who suspected her of being a witch, claiming she fell from the sky and under a tree because she ran out of witch flying gas. Medical experts claimed that the elderly woman may have simply been suffering from dementia and her strange behavior was misinterpreted as that of a witch’s. 

About a month ago my cousin was found to be a witch. She testified after my pastor had prayed for her. According to her she was introduced to it by my grandmother. I also know many people who are said to be witches. If Africa truly wants to live then we must desist from evil spirits and rather trust in the Lord.
Bernard Bortey, Ghana

5. Democratic Republic of Congo

Perhaps the most heart-breaking aspect of the loss of lives due to witchcraft is the fact that many of its victims are children. In a 2013 report by International Business Times, a staggering 50,000 children were accused of sorcery in Congo and as all horror stories go with regards to little ones, many of them have suffered abuse at the hands of their captors. And what are these people’s indication that the children are allegedly possessed by demons? Being disabled, wetting the bed at night, and suffering from nightmares!   

4.Kenya

When I first arrived in Nairobi, I saw the signs but didn’t know what they meant. Once I started understanding Swahili, I learned that the profusion of ads, nailed to fences, stuck on poles and printed on A3 paper, were for waganga (witchdoctors) offering assistance mainly in matters of business, money, love and infertility. In just about every suburb of Nairobi, you’ll find at least one ad, hand-painted, on a little plate, nailed high up on a pole. For an average of around 6000 shillings (R600) you can get to see one of these mgangas but it is advisable to avoid those who advertise on paper. They are reputed to be con artists.

Stories of “Nairobi girls” using this kind of witchcraft to secure a man is also legend. This kamutiinvolves the insertion of herbs or crystals into the vagina to keep the man abnormally attracted and emotionally ‘stuck’. The man will also be unable to gain an erection with any other woman. These kinds of stories are discussed very matter-of-factly in Nairobi. It is known to be a part of the girls’ personal arsenal, and is reputed to be a common practice.

Despite its widespread acceptance in Kenyan culture, witchcraft obviously has it detractors too. There have been horrific incidents of ‘witch’ lynchings – in 2009, five elderly men and women were burned alive by villagers in western Kenya who accused them of bewitching a young boy.  Last year, The Star newspaper reported that elders in the coastal Kilifi Country were fleeing their homes out of fear of being killed for practising witchcraft.

Stories of “Nairobi girls” using this kind of witchcraft to secure a man is also legend. This kamutiinvolves the insertion of herbs or crystals into the vagina to keep the man abnormally attracted and emotionally ‘stuck’. The man will also be unable to gain an erection with any other woman. These kinds of stories are discussed very matter-of-factly in Nairobi. It is known to be a part of the girls’ personal arsenal, and is reputed to be a common practice.

Despite its widespread acceptance in Kenyan culture, witchcraft obviously has it detractors too. There have been horrific incidents of ‘witch’ lynchings – in 2009, five elderly men and women were burned alive by villagers in western Kenya who accused them of bewitching a young boy.  Last year, The Star newspaper reported that elders in the coastal Kilifi Country were fleeing their homes out of fear of being killed for practising witchcraft.

3. Malawi

“Witchcraft is still alive in Africa. Here in Malawi there are two districts where people have advanced in witchcraft. These people can travel from Malawi to USA in seconds. They can tell you to close your eyes for two minutes and after that they tell you to open your eyes and seriously you find yourself in New York, imagine!

But the funny part of it these people are not educated but they are advanced in another technology. There are no planes which can travel from UK to USA in seconds, but ordinary people here can do it. In Karonga in the northern part of Malawi you can be removed your bones if you are rude and when you apologise they are returned. Anyway don’t be shocked.”
Allanie Njateni, Malawi

Witchcraft does exist. I was at a boarding school for four years and I did witness some witchcraft going on. Witchcraft indeed is used as a multipurpose thing as mentioned in your article. In Malawi there have been several cases whereby mutilated bodies have been found. Though I haven’t physically seen one myself but just read about it in the papers.
Wezi, Malawi

I have never seen a witch with my own eyes. But there are some events that happen in my country that lack scientific explanation and has been attributed to witchcraft. So I say yes witchcraft is with us and will always be there as long as Africa is alive.
Amos Phir, Malawi

2. Zambia

“Having lived in rural Zambia for several years, I can say definitively that witchcraft is alive and well in Zambia. Unfortunately in the western world, it has bad connotations – that it is backwards or harmful. I have seen truly sick Zambians get back on their feet after a visit from the local witchdoctor, or rather traditional healer, a term I prefer.

I think this says mountains about the power of belief to heal, as well as the benefits of traditional medicines. The only negative thing I have to say about my experiences with Zambian witchcraft is that the Christian missionaries, with no respect for traditional belief systems, will probably wipe out the wonderful aspect of rural Zambian culture within my lifetime.”
Jenny T Gelber, USA (formerly Zambia)

1. Nigeria

Two days ago in my neighbourhood. A girl of five was accused of killing her mother through witchcraft. She was tortured (tied upside down a tree) for hours to confess. What surprised me is the fact this girl had not heard of the word witchcraft and here she was being asked to make a so-called confession. In my opinion, those behind this child abuse should be brought to face the wrath of the law.
Kingsley Obika, Nigeria

Witchcraft in Africa is real and it is growing in an alarming rate because the youth are now into it. In Nigeria in particular most young people join up to witchcraft because they want to make quick money. They don’t mind what the witchdoctor demands from them – at times the witchdoctor asks them to kill their mother, father or even brothers and sisters. And they do it because they really want to become rich in a short time.

This practice in Nigeria is common with the Ibos. The witchdoctors are also believed to cure illnesses, and do other things like giving people luck to find husbands, good jobs, children and so on. But as a Christian I don’t believe in them, my religion condemns it, my religion tells me that it is only Jesus that has an answer to our problems so I don’t know why people still go and patronise these devils.

Another thing that makes me wonder is the fact that there so many churches in Nigeria where this type of practice happens. Witchcraft does no good to the nation but helps to hinder the progress of the nation. I wish that President Obasanjo stops these practices.
Juliet, Nigeria