Girls turn to juju to hook men
Apr 22, 2010
SILENCE fills a small hostel room as students anxiously watch a witchdoctor perform his rituals. Smoking a pipe, he sprinkles a powdery substance on his clients’ heads. He starts chanting incantations, his body shaking uncontrollably as he moves around the small room.
By Cecilia Okoth
SILENCE fills a small hostel room as students anxiously watch a witchdoctor perform his rituals. Smoking a pipe, he sprinkles a powdery substance on his clients’ heads. He starts chanting incantations, his body shaking uncontrollably as he moves around the small room.
Suddenly, he stops. And looking at each of the girls, he asks them to tell the spirits what they desire. Sandra Kageye (not real name) a second year student at university, tells the gods she wants to get a rich man, who will be loving enough to solve her financial problems.
She places a picture of a prominent Kampala businessman in a bowl before the witchdoctor. Rachael Atim, who yearns for good grades, places two books and a dead rat in a basket.
Another girl kneels before the witchdoctor and offers a small piece of cloth containing three strands of hair and clippings of finger nails. She wants the married man who is dating her to abandon his wife for her.
At the end the ceremony, each girl drops sh20,000 in a calabash. “It will be done!â€the witchdoctor promises his clients, who promptly leave the room to return to their duties at the campus.
This has become the trend for many university students struggling to live a good life at campus.
The high level of materialism and greed is now forcing many students, especially girls, to resort to witchcraft for wealth and ‘happiness’.
Although this practice is known to be common among people of lower social status, even the rich are increasingly getting involved.
Research reveals that the practice is on the increase among university students. The driving force behind this practice is the desire for good grades, money and relationships with rich men.
Irene Muswangali (not real name), who resides in one of the hostels in a Kampala, says she was shocked when one day she found a girl smoking a pipe at the window of her bedroom.
Another girl, Stella Kagali, says she once saw her roommate smearing a strange white substance all over her body. “She would wake up in the middle of the night and speak to herself.
I suspected she was practising witchcraft,†she says. Witchcraft is the practice of magic for mainly evil purposes. It is interrelated with superstition, which is the irrational fear of what is unknown or mysterious. Sometimes, it is associated with sorcery and cannibalism.
A survey by US-based Pew Research Centre shows that two out of every 10 Ugandans believe in witchcraft.
Most people start practising witchcraft with the hope of attaining quick wealth. Others take part in the practice out of ignorance.
Some people attribute it to materialism in the world today. At the universities, students from poor families look on helplessly as student from rich families live luxurious lifestyles.
For example, students come from different regions and countries, with diverse cultures. All these students meet campus with one common goal of attaining better grades and good jobs.
But the freedom that students have at university exposes them to all forms of misadventure, which results from the desire to live a ‘good’ life like many students from well off families.
And with the high competition among university students, especially females, many are forced to try out every trick in the bag to get what their hearts desire.
Life at campus is very demanding, yet things that make life seemingly worth while are out of reach for many.
And they are helpless in resisiting any opportunity that comes their way. Their parents will not be watching them after all.
For many girls, the fondness for the expensive life styles and personal items such as latest mobile phones, shoes, clothes or perfume pushes many into witchcraft.
Send your feedback on this story to weekend@newvision.co.ug, or SMS the word ‘weekend’ - leave a space, your comment and name and send to 8338 on all networks
SILENCE fills a small hostel room as students anxiously watch a witchdoctor perform his rituals. Smoking a pipe, he sprinkles a powdery substance on his clients’ heads. He starts chanting incantations, his body shaking uncontrollably as he moves around the small room.
Suddenly, he stops. And looking at each of the girls, he asks them to tell the spirits what they desire. Sandra Kageye (not real name) a second year student at university, tells the gods she wants to get a rich man, who will be loving enough to solve her financial problems.
She places a picture of a prominent Kampala businessman in a bowl before the witchdoctor. Rachael Atim, who yearns for good grades, places two books and a dead rat in a basket.
Another girl kneels before the witchdoctor and offers a small piece of cloth containing three strands of hair and clippings of finger nails. She wants the married man who is dating her to abandon his wife for her.
At the end the ceremony, each girl drops sh20,000 in a calabash. “It will be done!â€the witchdoctor promises his clients, who promptly leave the room to return to their duties at the campus.
This has become the trend for many university students struggling to live a good life at campus.
The high level of materialism and greed is now forcing many students, especially girls, to resort to witchcraft for wealth and ‘happiness’.
Although this practice is known to be common among people of lower social status, even the rich are increasingly getting involved.
Research reveals that the practice is on the increase among university students. The driving force behind this practice is the desire for good grades, money and relationships with rich men.
Irene Muswangali (not real name), who resides in one of the hostels in a Kampala, says she was shocked when one day she found a girl smoking a pipe at the window of her bedroom.
Another girl, Stella Kagali, says she once saw her roommate smearing a strange white substance all over her body. “She would wake up in the middle of the night and speak to herself.
I suspected she was practising witchcraft,†she says. Witchcraft is the practice of magic for mainly evil purposes. It is interrelated with superstition, which is the irrational fear of what is unknown or mysterious. Sometimes, it is associated with sorcery and cannibalism.
A survey by US-based Pew Research Centre shows that two out of every 10 Ugandans believe in witchcraft.
Most people start practising witchcraft with the hope of attaining quick wealth. Others take part in the practice out of ignorance.
Some people attribute it to materialism in the world today. At the universities, students from poor families look on helplessly as student from rich families live luxurious lifestyles.
For example, students come from different regions and countries, with diverse cultures. All these students meet campus with one common goal of attaining better grades and good jobs.
But the freedom that students have at university exposes them to all forms of misadventure, which results from the desire to live a ‘good’ life like many students from well off families.
And with the high competition among university students, especially females, many are forced to try out every trick in the bag to get what their hearts desire.
Life at campus is very demanding, yet things that make life seemingly worth while are out of reach for many.
And they are helpless in resisiting any opportunity that comes their way. Their parents will not be watching them after all.
For many girls, the fondness for the expensive life styles and personal items such as latest mobile phones, shoes, clothes or perfume pushes many into witchcraft.
Send your feedback on this story to weekend@newvision.co.ug, or SMS the word ‘weekend’ - leave a space, your comment and name and send to 8338 on all networks