Accused of witchcraft

In some parts of Africa, witchcraft has played a role in rebellions, wars, and the gaining of independence. Some people also consult witchdoctors to cure diseases or find a husband. In some central African areas magic is blamed for diseases such as AIDS and cancer by local people.

One major problem with the belief of witchcraft as that children too often get accused of practicing witchcraft and this leads to neglect, emotional distress and physical abuse.

In DRC this is a big issue as many of the children living on the streets of the capital, Kinshasa, had been accused of being a witch. The evidence of so-called witchcraft could include a relative’s sudden death, disease, disability and even bad behaviour; the first three being things that are bound to happen during a conflict.

Families when faced with the problem of what to do with a child accused of witchcraft have only a few options. They could deny the allegation (which carries with it risks as the community could turn against them), send the child away to live on the streets, or get the child exorcised by a pastor.

There are a large number of fundamentalist Christian sects who can make a lot of money out of the witchcraft trend. They can charge to identify a witch and then charge another fee to exorcise them, which can involve starving, beating and torturing them in order to get rid of the ‘devil’ inside them. They pray on peoples’ fears and beliefs.

As life gets harder for people living with conflict and poverty, more children are accused of witchcraft. Poverty is one reason to get rid of a dependent child and religion used as an explanation as to why thousands of children are abused and left unprotected.