Share This

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Recent government efforts to tackle child abuse associated to witchcraft and possession do not go far enough

On Christmas day, 2010, Kristy Bamu was tortured to death by his sister Magalie Bamu, and her partner Eric Bilkubi. Kristy was deprived of food and water for three days and three nights. He was struck with a heavy bar and hammer, knocking out his teeth. Ceramic floor tiles and bottles were smashed on his head and a pair of pliers used to twist his ear. According to Kristy’s sister and her partner, Kristy was a “witch”. The prolonged attack of “unspeakable savagery and brutality” was part of a deliverance ceremony (or exorcism), necessary to free the child of alleged possession.

Over recent years, accusations of witchcraft and possession have become part of a growing pattern of child abuse in the UK. The first high profile case of child abuse linked to accusations of witchcraft or possession was that of eight year old Victoria Climbié in 2000. Her tragic death helped spurn the “Every Child Matters” initiative and the introduction of the Children Act 2004. Just one year later, in 2005, a case referred to as the “Child B” case was widely reported. Child B, also eight years old, was subjected to a horrifying catalogue of torture and was eventually discovered by a street warden sitting outside an East London flat, shivering and covered in cuts and bruises. There have also been other, less publicised cases, including a pastor in Bradford who abused his two sons because he believed they were possessed.

In August 2012, in response to Kristy Bamu’s murder, the government launched an action plan to tackle child abuse linked to witchcraft or possession. The key aims of the action plan are to raise awareness and set out “urgent practical steps to identify and protect children at risk”.

However, the government’s most recent efforts arguably do not go far enough. The action plan fails to address the fact that cases of child abuse linked to witchcraft and possession have their origin in the branding of vulnerable children as witches or possessed by evil spirits.

In an African context, witch branding is tantamount to violence. The actions which follow can encompass neglect, physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Children are beaten with heavy implements, kicked, punched and starved in the form of fasting. They are also isolated from others, denied medical care and withdrawn from school, thus making the children easy targets for sexual abuse.

In many instances, accusations of witchcraft are made and verified by African churches in the UK. Often within these churches there is a strong focus on success, as measured by wealth and possessions – a mark of God’s favour. Those who do not succeed believe that they have been prevented from doing so by witchcraft.

Most migrants, many of whom are escaping violent upheavals, may still experience poverty, anxiety and suffering in the Western world. This makes migrants particularly vulnerable to a number of religious entrepreneurs or “rogue pastors”, readily available and willing to take advantage of such individuals.  Rogue pastors often encourage the diagnosis of witchcraft in the households of those who are searching for an explanation for their misfortunes. Those who are targeted are often the most vulnerable members of society. Victims of witchcraft include: children with a disability (i.e. autism, epilepsy, Down syndrome and dyslexia), children living away from home in private fostering situations, those living with a step parent or with one natural parent absent or dead and those children whose parents have been diagnosed as witches.

Accusations of witchcraft and possession can provide a financially lucrative business due to the rewards which often follow. It is within a pastor’s interest to diagnose a child with a condition that only they can cure. Material rewards can range from charging £500 for an oil that is going to “cure” a child of evil spirits, to the more profitable performance of a deliverance ceremony. The prestige of large congregations as a result of successful deliverance ceremonies is also, no doubt, a motivating factor.

Currently, those who are inciting harm upon children are outside the reach of the law.  Nowhere in UK law is the link between child branding and incitement to harm made. Thus, the law must be reformed so that those who initiate the process of abuse no longer remain outside its reach and vulnerable children are protected from long term abuse, harm and even death.  

Image from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/mar/01/witchcraft-trial-unreported-cases-police