In this week’s The Week there is a piece called Africa: The enduring power of witchcraft. Since spending time in the West African nation of Benin, the birthplace of voodoo, I have often wondered about the status of “witchcraft” in various African nations. I had more than a few friends in Benin who, wide-eyed, would tell me stories about witches and their evil-doings.The Week’s article sheds light on some horrific situations that prove that superstition still leads to the most extreme violence. Here are a few examples:
- In Angola and Congo, seriously ill or orphaned children are often accused of sorcery and abused or killed.
- Secretive cults on Nigeria’s university campuses have killed hundreds.
- Mwanamkasi Jumbe of Tanzania’s The Citizen, reports that witch doctors tell their clients to use potions made of albino hair, blood, or body parts as a means of getting rich. Dozens of albinos have been murdered and the albino population in Tanzania lives “in constant fear of death.”
- Recently the president of Gambia’s aunt died and he launched a witch hunt to find her killer. Random people from around the country have been rounded up and forced to drink hallucinogenic potions to make them confess. Many have died.
The article states that such primitive and incredibly ignorant behavior is not limited to certain people or certain countries. Many educated Africans live in fear of “juju” and build their lives around avoiding certain things. Human rights activists have an uphill battle in the face of this deeply entrenched cultural evil.
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