Uganda's witch doctors sacrifice children in attempt to terminate extreme drought
Witch doctors are sacrificing children in Uganda, looking to turn the tide with miracles in the drought-stricken country, a new report says.
Officials in Uganda say the number of human sacrifices are on the rise, as the East African country battles its worst drought in more than half a century. More than 11 million people are facing food insecurity and more than 1.6 million are on the brink of famine.
“There is no food due to the ongoing drought, and some believe that this has been brought by ancestral spirits,” Joel Mugoya, a traditional, told the Religion News Service, according to USA Today. “So there is a high desire for people to conduct sacrifices so that they come out of this problem.”
“It’s a brutal ritual that destroys the lives of our children and affects their parents mentally,” said Pastor Peter Sewakiryanga, leader of Kyampisi Childcare Ministries. “We are working with police to arrest witch doctors involved in the ritual. We are also assisting the survivors financially and with moral support.”
Moses Binoga, a police officer who heads the country’s Anti-Human Sacrifice and Trafficking Task Force, said seven children were sacrificed last year and seven children and six adults were sacrificed in 2015.
The numbers could be even higher, however.
Just this month, more than 44 people were arrested in connection with a spate of murders of women and children. One man arrested reportedly confessed to killing 8 women, Uganda Police Inspector General Kale Kayihura said.
“The murders were for ritual sacrifices,” he said last week. “We are working hard to arrest the remaining suspects and end the practice.”
One such murder was that of 8-year-old John Lubega, whose remains were found in a swamp in February without teeth, lips, ears and genitals.
“My innocent son died a painful death,” Jackline Mukisa, 28, said. “How could somebody intend to murder my son?”
Church leaders across the country are teaming up with police in hopes of ending the brutal practice.
Sewakiryanga said children are disappearing across the country every week. Most often they are found dead, or alive with missing body parts.
Source: Foxnews
