Here are a few stories about what has been happening to “witches” around the world since my last post on the subject about a month ago:

—– Angry Villagers In Malawi Kill Their Chief For Allegedly Teaching And Practicing Witchcraft (Judith Moyo/Nyasa Times; Feb 13)

MALAWI: Police in Nkhatabay have started arresting scores of people from Msundu village, Traditional Authority Malanda for allegedly taking part in one of the most ghastly murders of their village headman.

The villagers gruesomely beat him to death and set his body on fire. It was unattended for the whole day before police came to collect it.

Northern Region Police Spokesperson Nora Chimwala could not answer her phone when contacted but a police source at Chintheche confirmed arresting around 20 people connected to the murder.

“We have arrested about 20 people but more arrests are pending because almost the entire village was involved in the case,” said the source who declined to be identified.

Reports reaching us say the villagers killed acting village headman Msundu, real name Mkwakwata Chirwa, for being suspected of teaching children in the village witchcraft.

The rumor of his involvement in witchcraft began in January this year after a woman in the village fell sick in a bizarre manner and decided to seek help from witch doctors where she was told about the headman.

The village head is said to have confessed practicing and teaching children witchcraft and he was immediately sent packing out of his own village.

“He reportedly went into hiding for some days but some villagers spotted him on Monday� He was caught and they started beaten him repeatedly until he died. The assailants then set his body on fire and left it there,” said the police source.

The acting village headman Msundu was 44 years and came from the area of Traditional Authority Malanda in the district. His remains were laid to rest on Wednesday.

—– Suspected Witch Lynched In India (Statesman News Service; Feb 22)

JAJPUR, India: Six people were arrested by Tomka police and forwarded to court for allegedly killing a tribal youth suspected to have been practicing witchcraft in their village in Jajpur district yesterday.

The arrested people were remanded to judicial custody after their bail pleas were rejected, police sources said.

According to reports, Jaipal Munda (40) of Thakurmunda area in Mayurbhanj district had been residing in the house of Ms Randa Munda, a tribal woman at Phuljhar village under Tomka police station, about 75 km from the district headquarters for the last couple of years. Phuljhar villagers were suspecting him of practicing sorcery in their village.

Jaipal had allegedly eloped with Randa for about four days and both returned to village on Thursday. This incident further gave a strong reason to the village youths to believe that he was involved in witchcraft. Being aggrieved of it they wanted to eliminate him.

“On Thursday night, they reportedly passed lewd remarks at Jaipal suspecting him witchcraft practitioner while the latter was present in Ms Randa’s house. When Ms Randa objected the remarks, irate youths dragged Jaipal out of the house and lynched him to death. Though Jaipal was rushed to the local government hospital at Danagadi doctor declared him brought dead,” Jajpur deputy superintendent of police Mr PR Patra said.

The arrested people are: Sriram Purty, Rasika Purty, Badudi Purty, Hari Purty, Birsa Jarika and Brajamohan Jarika. Some of the accused are still at large, sources said….

—– Five Elderly People Burnt To Death In Kenyan Witch Hunt (The Herald Sun/AFP; Feb 28)

NAIROBI: Five elderly people suspected of practising witchcraft have been burnt to death in western Kenya, police say.

“They include four women and a man in their 80s who were accused of having abducted a child,” Kisii deputy police Commander Manasseh Musyoka said.

The killings occurred at Bomatara Village in Mosocho Division.

A resident who declined to be named said the abducted child was found dumped on the roadside.

“He was unconscious and when he regained it, he was able to tell the names of his abductors,” he said. “That is when a decision was reached in the village to hunt them down. And they were all burnt in their houses.”

In March last year, 12 people – mainly elderly men and women – were burnt to death in similar circumstances.

—– 91-Year-Old “Witch” Hacked To Death In Swaziland (Starsky Mkhonta/The Swazi Observer; March 4)

A 91-year-old gogo died after being hacked with a bush-knife by her grandson who accused her of witchcraft.

Gogo Sophia Ngangothi Siyaya was killed on Tuesday evening. The incident was witnessed by her seven-year-old grand-daughter who raised an alarm.

The incident has shocked the community of Makhava near Lavumisa.

She was found lying in a pool of blood by here relatives and was still breathing.

They rushed her to Matsanjeni clinic and later to Hlatikhulu Government Hospital where she eventually died.

The suspect was arrested yesterday morning by a search party. He will appear before the Nhlangano Magistrate Court this morning for remand.

Police PRO, Vusi Masuku confirmed the incident.

—– Man Burnt Alive For Practicing Sorcery In India (The Times Of India; March 6)

MEDAK, India: In a shocking incident, a man was allegedly burnt alive by the villagers in Shivampet mandal of Medak district on Thursday, suspecting him to be practising sorcery and witchcraft.

Villagers of Peddagottumukkala picked up Gunda Anjaiah from his house and took him to the village centre where they allegedly burnt him alive.

“On the way, the villagers kept kicking him with their chappals,” a source said.

The victim was severely beaten up last year on similar charges, it is learnt. Police said they have picked up some of the accused and shifted them to Narsapur police station for interrogation. “We will arrest the rest of the accused for committing the dastardly act,” a police official said.

—– Two Men Killed For Witchcraft In Mozambique (News24.com/South African Press Association; March 9)

MAPUTO: Three Mozambican brothers allegedly lynched their two uncles by burning them to death in Maputo, for apparently being witches, Televisao de Mozambique reported on Sunday.

Almeida Tachinga, a senior officer in the national police service, PRM, was quoted by the state controlled television channel as saying the suspects first cut their uncles who were aged 40 and 60 with pangas to death before locking their corpses in a hut and setting it alight.

Tachinga said police arrived too late to be able to save the two uncles.

The television channel quoted sources at the scene of the crime saying the suspects had accused the two uncles of killing their parents using witchcraft.

Beliefs in witchcraft in Mozambique are rife and many families have conflicts related to accusations of witchcraft.

Lynchings have been on the increase in Mozambique in recent years despite appeals by the government to desist from the practice.

Tachinga said the 3 brothers were in police detention.

—– Mine Worker Shoots “Witch” In South Africa (iafrica.com/South African Press Association; March 10)

Convinced his sister-in-law had bewitched him, a mine worker shot her dead in a mealie field on Monday, Eastern Cape police said.

Captain Mduduzi Godlwana said the man believed that, as part of her witchcraft, she had fed him poison which was giving him mouth sores.

While she was in the fields collecting mealies to feed her six young children at 7am on Monday, he shot her three times – once in the forehead and twice in the left arm.

Three of her children fainted when they heard of her death and had to be admitted to the Holy Cross Hospital, said Godlwana. Their father died in 2001.

Asked who would care for them now, he said: “There’s no one.”

“The one born in 1985 is going to head the family. And no one is employed there. It is painful.”

The family lives in the Dolopini administrative area.

Godlwana said their uncle – their father’s brother – had been arrested and was in custody in the Mtomtsasa police cells. He would appear in the local magistrate’s court on Wednesday.

Police had taken possession of the licensed 9mm pistol he used in the shooting.

—– Man Kills Two “Witches” In South Africa Before Hanging Himself (The Independent Online; March 14)

A 35-year-old man killed two women, aged 65 and 69, whom he suspected of practising witchcraft in Libode before hanging himself, Eastern Cape police said on Saturday.

Superintendent Mzukisi Fatyela said the incident happened around 2pm on Friday in the Mthombe locality in the Libode area.

The man had been working in Gauteng but felt that he was not making progress.

The man apparently believed the two women had used magic to stymie his work efforts and were trying to kill him through their use of magic.

He went to each of their two separate houses in Mthombe and allegedly murdered both women.

The man then allegedly hanged himself.

—– Burundi Albino Murdered And Dismembered “For Witch Doctor Charms” (The Herald Sun/AFP; March 14)

An albino man was murdered and dismembered overnight in Burundi by suspected smugglers with links to Tanzanian witch doctors.

It is the fourth such case in a month in the central African nation, officials said.

“An albino man by the name of Francois and aged around 20 was attacked by a group of criminals at his home in the Shombo district,” about 140km northeast of Bujumbura, Karusi province governor Sylvestre Ndayizeye said.

“They killed him, chopped off his legs and arms and fled.”

Police spokesman Pierre Chanel Ntarabaganyi said police and locals chased the killers, who are believed to be hiding in Ruvubu forest.

At least another six albinos were killed in similar circumstances over the preceding five months.

“It’s the reign of terror now, especially with the authorities denying us the right to organise a demonstration of support in Bujumbura this morning on the grounds that it would distract Burundians from their work,” said Kassim Kazungu, who chairs the country’s albino society.

“This is the fourth albino killed in less than a month and the government remains indifferent to the plight of the albinos… We are urging the international community to exert some pressure.”

Police sources suspect that albino limbs and organs are smuggled across the border into Tanzania and sold to witch doctors who use them to concoct lucky charms.

Fishermen and small-scale miners were initially believed to be the sorcerers’ main customers but albino body parts can now fetch thousands of dollars in Tanzania.

A string of botched trials and fruitless arrests has raised suspicion that bigger players could be involved in the gruesome trade.

—– Six “Witches” Burnt To Death In Kenya (Wangari Kanyongo Kenya Broadcasting Corporation; March 14)

Six people suspected to be practicing witchcraft in Pokot District were burnt to death by the area residents.

Families of the victims now want the government to intervene, saying some of their relatives are missing.

“We have been living in fear, some of us have been attacked and severely injured” said the family members.

Members of the six families in Pokot Saturday mourned the loss of their elderly parents aged between 50 and 70 years who were burnt to death on suspicion of practicing witchcraft.

Two of the victims were burnt in their houses, while the others were taken away from their homes and lynched in bushes.

The incident comes just days after Kenyans were distressed by the lynching of suspected witches in Kisii District.

The area police boss David Wambua and the district commissioner who visited the area warned residents against taking the law in their hands and said those involved in the murders will be arrested and prosecuted.

They asked the residents to report any suspect of witchcraft so that they can be prosecuted.

Four weeks…. Ten stories…. Seven countries…. More than 20 victims who paid with their lives….

And worshipers of the supernatural object to our bus signs?

It’s like watching crazy people damning and chasing harmless fireflies while the blazes they themselves have started are burning down the world….