African Witch Persecutions
Lowell McFarland
lowell@nassau.cv.net
Tue Sep  8 12:02:33 1998
The African National Congress (ANC) has a news briefing containing information presented at the South African Conference on Violence & Witchcraft, at Thohoyandou, Northern Province, South Africa: http://www.anc.org.za:80/ancdocs/briefing/nw19980908/10.html*p*[Premier] "Ramathlodi agreed that witchcraft would not be eradicated by outlawing it. "*p*"Elderly women mostly fell victim to witch hunts because they were often frail and vulnerable, the premier said."*p*"Mutwa said women were targeted because of what he described as a conspiracy to destroy the "feminine side of Africa".*p*"Women are the pillars which sustain Africa's noblest traditions," he said. "*p*Loch Sloy!*br*Tuan Today*br*Lowell McFarland*br***********************************br*The African National Congress (ANC)*br*WITCHCRAFT-RAMATHLODI*p*WITCH HUNTING IN SA [South Africa] IS A NEW PHENOMENON, CONFERENCE HEARS THOHOYANDOU September 7 1998 Sapa*p*Witch hunting in South Africa was a relatively new phenomenon that did not form part of traditional African beliefs, a Northern Province conference on violence related to witchcraft heard on Monday.*p*Premier Ngoako Ramathlodi told delegates at Thohoyandou that such  murders were increasingly motivated by fear or jealousy.*p*"Individuals are taking the law into their own hands in the name of justice," he said. "Our people have resorted to violent and criminal actions in dealing with those they believe to be witches."*p*Traditional healer Credo Mutwa said it was not part of African tradition to hunt down and kill suspected witches. In the past witches were punished by being driven from their communities, and then only after repeated offences.*p*Nowadays many so-called witches were killed merely on suspicion. They were usually burnt alive by mobs of young people.*p*"Ritual murder as we know it today is not traditional to any tribe in Southern Africa," Mutwa said. The surge in this type of crime should be blamed on "all types of foreign influences".*p*Mutwa said traditional Africans would never burn any person, even a witch. They believed perpetrators of such deeds would lose their own souls.*p*Northern Province safety and security MEC Seth Nthai told the conference that 18 suspected witches were killed in the province last year, 17 in 1996 and 24 between May and December 1995.*p*More than 300 people lost their lives and property between 1990 and 1994, and 228 were killed between April 1994 and April 1995, he said.*p*Nthai said the belief in witchcraft could not be wished away as it was deeply entrenched in the minds of most Africans.*p*Mutwa appealed to the conference not to laugh at traditional African beliefs.*p*Displaying a voodoo doll, he said: "You cannot fight superstition by ridiculing it. You must confront it head-on with a clear mind." *p*Turning to ways to curtail violence related to witchcraft, Mutwa said legislation was not a solution.*p*"We should create more jobs. People who are poor and hungry become paranoid and irritable, and look for scapegoats for their problems."*p*Ramathlodi agreed that witchcraft would not be eradicated by outlawing it.*p*"We cannot pretend that it does not exist - at least as a belief in the minds of some people."*p*Elderly women mostly fell victim to witch hunts because they were often frail and vulnerable, the premier said.*p*Mutwa said women were targeted because of what he described as a conspiracy to destroy the "feminine side of Africa".*p*"Women are the pillars which sustain Africa's noblest traditions," he said.*p*Ramathlodi called for special centres where crimes related to witchcraft could be reported. The problem should be handled at a central level, he said.*p*source:*br*gopher://gopher.anc.org.za/00/anc/newsbrief/1998/news0908 processed Tue 8 Sep 1998 09:25 SAST.