Witches in Wakanda

1,122 words

Witchcraft is not merely a cultural relic or a fascinating feature of African folklore. It is a real and growing societal problem that fuels violence, murder, human trafficking, and other human rights abuses across the continent. In many African societies, irrational belief in witchcraft continues to claim innocent lives—especially women, children, and the most vulnerable. This belief system is not benign or “spiritual”; it is destructive, backward, and a hindrance to development and justice.

From Ghana to Nigeria, Kenya to South Africa, belief in witchcraft permeates public life. According to Prospera Tedam’s study on child witchcraft branding, some 90% of Ghanaians believe in witchcraft, and many use it to explain any form of adversity, including poverty, sickness, or death. In Northern Ghana, elderly women are frequently accused of witchcraft and subjected to horrific abuse, as seen in the infamous lynching of Akua Denteh, a 90-year-old woman beaten to death in public after a traditional priestess accused her of witchcraft.

And it doesn’t stop there. In some parts of the continent, bizarre and dangerous beliefs persist—such as the belief in Mozambique that bald-headed men have gold in their skulls. This has led to the brutal killing of such individuals. These are not isolated cases; they are a reflection of how deeply entrenched magical thinking has become in communities where rational explanations and scientific understanding are absent or distrusted.

One of the most sinister aspects of witchcraft in Africa is the uptick in human sacrifice during election years. Politicians, seeking to win power, consult “witch doctors” who advise or carry out human sacrifices as rituals for success. In many countries, election years are accompanied by a chilling rise in mutilated corpses, kidnappings, and unexplained disappearances—many of which are linked to these ritual practices. In the logic of juju and “bad magic,” human body parts, especially those of children or albinos, are seen as powerful ingredients for concocting victory.

This problem is not hypothetical. It is real, ongoing, and documented. In the trafficking context, politicians and madams often consult juju priests to bind people—especially women—to silence or servitude, furthering not only electoral ambitions but organized crime.

However, witchcraft belief doesn’t just affect adults. It devastates children too. African children—especially those who are orphaned, disabled, or simply “different”—are branded as witches. They are beaten, burned, tortured, and even killed. According to Tedam, at least six children in the UK alone, from African migrant families, were murdered between 2000 and 2010 because their parents or caregivers believed they were possessed by evil spirits.

In both African and diasporic contexts, faith leaders—especially some Pentecostal pastors—play a disturbingly active role in branding children as witches. These pastors offer “deliverance services” which amount to abuse under religious justification. They are rarely challenged because they are seen as authoritative spiritual figures. Meanwhile, children continue to suffer.

Nowhere is the problem of witchcraft belief more deeply tied to modern slavery than in Nigeria, particularly in Edo State. Here, traffickers use juju rituals to enslave girls. Victims are forced to take oaths involving blood, pubic hair, fingernails, and incantations before fearsome deities like Ayelala. These oaths bind them psychologically and spiritually to their traffickers. Many believe that if they break the oath, they or their families will die or go mad.

In 2018, the Oba of Benin—a powerful traditional figure—made a public spiritual declaration to revoke these oaths and cursed the traffickers and juju priests involved. While this gesture was lauded by some, it is naïve to think that such declarations have any tangible effect in dismantling criminal trafficking networks. The belief systems that sustain juju are precisely the ones that allow trafficking to thrive. Symbolic curses do not stop organized crime. Legal reform, police enforcement, education, and social work do.

Indeed, the continued reliance on such traditional figures to resolve human rights crises speaks to the failure of the state to assert secular, legal authority. Believing that a monarch’s spiritual intervention will stop human trafficking is not just misguided—it’s part of the problem. It reinforces the same spiritualist worldview that empowers traffickers and witch doctors in the first place.

Witchcraft accusations disproportionately affect women. In many societies, especially patriarchal ones, accusations are often directed at elderly women, widows, or women who defy social norms. This is not a coincidence. As feminist scholars like Drucker-Brown have noted, accusations are often a method of enforcing male control or punishing female autonomy.

Witch camps in Northern Ghana, where accused women are exiled “for their safety,” have become semi-permanent institutions. While defenders of these camps argue they are protective, in truth they are places of confinement and segregation—more like open-air prisons than sanctuaries. The very existence of such camps indicates how normalized witchcraft accusations have become.

Religious institutions have done little to confront this violence. In some cases, they perpetuate it. Many Pentecostal and Neo-Prophetic churches thrive on the fear of witches, demons, and evil spirits. Deliverance services focus obsessively on casting out witches rather than addressing poverty, education, or justice. This obsession with the supernatural has replaced civic engagement or ethical teaching.

As observed in Northern Ghana, even the Christian church tends to see witch camps as acceptable rather than actively opposing them. This silence is not just complicit—it’s morally bankrupt. Churches that remain silent in the face of witch lynchings and child branding fail in their moral and prophetic duty

To dismantle the destructive influence of witchcraft belief in Africa, the most effective starting points are legal reform and robust public education. Laws must unequivocally criminalize witchcraft accusations, human sacrifices, and all related abuses, including the branding of children and the use of juju rituals to coerce trafficking victims. Governments should not treat these acts as cultural anomalies or matters for traditional resolution; they are human rights violations that demand firm legal consequences. Ghana’s recent Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to prohibit witchcraft accusations, is a positive example, but such legislation must be enforced rigorously and extended to other countries plagued by these abuses. Equally essential is public education. Communities must be taught to reject superstitions and seek rational, evidence-based explanations for illness, death, and misfortune. This education should begin in schools, but it must also be carried through radio, television, and community outreach. Without reshaping public understanding, even the best laws will fail. People need to know that believing in witches or sacrificing humans for power is not only irrational—it is criminal. Education and law must work hand-in-hand to push society toward reason and justice.

Witchcraft beliefs in Africa are fueling violence, abuse, and exploitation. Confronting this crisis requires urgent legal action and a shift in public thinking. Without bold reform and education, these deadly superstitions will continue to thrive unchecked.