Ritual killers change tactics
Mar 07, 2009
SEVEN PEOPLE KILLED IN ONE MONTH, 45 MISSING<br><br>RITUAL killers have started killing more adults than children, Police has warned. Over the last one month, seven people were killed in suspected ritual murders and another 45 gone missing countrywide,
SEVEN PEOPLE KILLED IN ONE MONTH, 45 MISSING
By Chris Kiwawulo
RITUAL killers have started killing more adults than children, Police has warned. Over the last one month, seven people were killed in suspected ritual murders and another 45 gone missing countrywide, Moses Binoga, head of the anti-human sacrifice task force, said yesterday.
Those killed were three male adults, two female adults and two children. They were killed in Kampala, Kamuli, Ntungamo Mubende, Soroti and Bushenyi. Nine people have been arrested and four have been charged, Binoga said. ¡§Traditional healers have found out that it is now lucrative business dealing in human heads and body parts as a source of amassing quick wealth,¡¨ he said.
Typically women who have been killed in ritual murders this year were lured by men who offered to give them lifts or to take them out. Others have been kidnapped. In most cases they were raped and beheaded.
The Criminal Investigations Department, spokesperson Fred Enanga, said all the suspects arrested in connection with such murders have been linked with ritual sacrifice. ¡§Preliminary investigations have found out that the murders were planned by witchdoctors in different parts of the country,¡¨ Enanga said. ¡§It is a tricky situation but we need to beef up our intelligence to stop these murders. Of course, this will be possible with increased vigilance and cooperation that the Police will get from the public.¡¨
According to security sources, Police Chief Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura has appointed a 15-member team to investigate the wave of human sacrifice. The committee headed by Assistant Inspector of Police Moses Binoga includes representatives from Internal Security Organisation, Ministry of Gender and Ministry of Education.
At the height of ritual murders late last year, the major victims of the gruesome killings were children aged below 13 years. The Police suspect the killers could have turned to grown-ups after security agencies and the public became increasingly conscious of child sacrifice. They target female victims because of they are weaker.
The head of community liaison affairs in the Police Force, Asan Kasingye, said adults are no longer safe from ritual murders. He blamed fake traditional healer who, after extorting money from their clients and failing to solve their problem, find ways of discouraging them by asking them to do the impossible. ¡§But because these people are desperate to heal or get wealth, they are determined to do anything even if you tell them to get a Policeman¡¦s head,¡¨ Kasingye explained. ¡§It seems these fake traditional healers have run out of tricks of how to cheat people and have now turned to asking them to go for impossibilities.¡¨
However, the leader of traditional healers in Uganda, Hajji Lutakome Ssentamu, denies that his colleagues are involved in the recent wave of adult ritual murders. Instead be blames anti-Government elements. ¡§I suspect that some of these murderers kill innocent people to discredit the Government. They are bad people who want the public to think that the Government has failed to protect its people,¡¨ said Ssentamu, who chairs the Uganda Herbalists¡¦ Association.
Ssentamu, who also represents the traditional herbalists at the National Drug Authority (NDA) board, said some murderers only disguise as traditional healers. Others, he said, are rapists who murder the victims for fear that they (victims) might seek justice. ¡§Those men rape these girls and because the girls know them, they end up murdering them to avoid being pinned.¡¨
As one of the ways to weed out imposters, Ssentamu said, his organisation and NDA had started screening traditional healers countrywide. The team, he said, visits the traditional practitioners¡¦ places of work and residences in all districts to ascertain that they are not involved in any wrongdoing before approval. ¡§Those we approve to practice must adhere to our set standards. They should be in position to identify those who are fake. They should report them to the authorities,¡¨ he explained.
Ssentamu noted that those who chop off their heads or private parts do it to create an impression that it is the work of traditional healers. The Police force¡¦s community affairs chief, Asan Kasingye, said the traditional healers who engage in murder of people were not genuine.
However, according to Kasingye, previous investigations have revealed that most ritual murders are masterminded by rich people who are looking for more wealth. ¡§This is brought about by the strong belief in the traditional practices rooted in our people.¡¨
Kasingye said Police had stepped up public awareness campaigns on ritual murders. He urged the public to report any suspected cases to Police to avert more of such gruesome murders. ¡§Such crimes bedevil our society and we have to stop them. It is the responsibility of everybody to fight this crime of ritual murders,¡¨ he observed.
TIPS
Ć Avoid walking in isolated places alone
Ć Always inform friends/relatives about people you hang out with and where
Ć Be suspicious of strangers in the community
Ć Avoid taking lifts from strangers
Ć Avoid sending children out to shops, wells at awkward hours unaccompanied
Ć Always accompany children to and from school
Ć Inform the Police of any new suspected fake healer in the community
By Chris Kiwawulo
RITUAL killers have started killing more adults than children, Police has warned. Over the last one month, seven people were killed in suspected ritual murders and another 45 gone missing countrywide, Moses Binoga, head of the anti-human sacrifice task force, said yesterday.
Those killed were three male adults, two female adults and two children. They were killed in Kampala, Kamuli, Ntungamo Mubende, Soroti and Bushenyi. Nine people have been arrested and four have been charged, Binoga said. ¡§Traditional healers have found out that it is now lucrative business dealing in human heads and body parts as a source of amassing quick wealth,¡¨ he said.
Typically women who have been killed in ritual murders this year were lured by men who offered to give them lifts or to take them out. Others have been kidnapped. In most cases they were raped and beheaded.
The Criminal Investigations Department, spokesperson Fred Enanga, said all the suspects arrested in connection with such murders have been linked with ritual sacrifice. ¡§Preliminary investigations have found out that the murders were planned by witchdoctors in different parts of the country,¡¨ Enanga said. ¡§It is a tricky situation but we need to beef up our intelligence to stop these murders. Of course, this will be possible with increased vigilance and cooperation that the Police will get from the public.¡¨
According to security sources, Police Chief Maj. Gen. Kale Kayihura has appointed a 15-member team to investigate the wave of human sacrifice. The committee headed by Assistant Inspector of Police Moses Binoga includes representatives from Internal Security Organisation, Ministry of Gender and Ministry of Education.
At the height of ritual murders late last year, the major victims of the gruesome killings were children aged below 13 years. The Police suspect the killers could have turned to grown-ups after security agencies and the public became increasingly conscious of child sacrifice. They target female victims because of they are weaker.
The head of community liaison affairs in the Police Force, Asan Kasingye, said adults are no longer safe from ritual murders. He blamed fake traditional healer who, after extorting money from their clients and failing to solve their problem, find ways of discouraging them by asking them to do the impossible. ¡§But because these people are desperate to heal or get wealth, they are determined to do anything even if you tell them to get a Policeman¡¦s head,¡¨ Kasingye explained. ¡§It seems these fake traditional healers have run out of tricks of how to cheat people and have now turned to asking them to go for impossibilities.¡¨
However, the leader of traditional healers in Uganda, Hajji Lutakome Ssentamu, denies that his colleagues are involved in the recent wave of adult ritual murders. Instead be blames anti-Government elements. ¡§I suspect that some of these murderers kill innocent people to discredit the Government. They are bad people who want the public to think that the Government has failed to protect its people,¡¨ said Ssentamu, who chairs the Uganda Herbalists¡¦ Association.
Ssentamu, who also represents the traditional herbalists at the National Drug Authority (NDA) board, said some murderers only disguise as traditional healers. Others, he said, are rapists who murder the victims for fear that they (victims) might seek justice. ¡§Those men rape these girls and because the girls know them, they end up murdering them to avoid being pinned.¡¨
As one of the ways to weed out imposters, Ssentamu said, his organisation and NDA had started screening traditional healers countrywide. The team, he said, visits the traditional practitioners¡¦ places of work and residences in all districts to ascertain that they are not involved in any wrongdoing before approval. ¡§Those we approve to practice must adhere to our set standards. They should be in position to identify those who are fake. They should report them to the authorities,¡¨ he explained.
Ssentamu noted that those who chop off their heads or private parts do it to create an impression that it is the work of traditional healers. The Police force¡¦s community affairs chief, Asan Kasingye, said the traditional healers who engage in murder of people were not genuine.
However, according to Kasingye, previous investigations have revealed that most ritual murders are masterminded by rich people who are looking for more wealth. ¡§This is brought about by the strong belief in the traditional practices rooted in our people.¡¨
Kasingye said Police had stepped up public awareness campaigns on ritual murders. He urged the public to report any suspected cases to Police to avert more of such gruesome murders. ¡§Such crimes bedevil our society and we have to stop them. It is the responsibility of everybody to fight this crime of ritual murders,¡¨ he observed.
TIPS
Ć Avoid walking in isolated places alone
Ć Always inform friends/relatives about people you hang out with and where
Ć Be suspicious of strangers in the community
Ć Avoid taking lifts from strangers
Ć Avoid sending children out to shops, wells at awkward hours unaccompanied
Ć Always accompany children to and from school
Ć Inform the Police of any new suspected fake healer in the community