Kampala | Sunday
MORE than 240 people have been killed in a violent witch hunt around the town of Aru in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during the past two weeks, the Ugandan military said on Saturday.
The lynchings appear to have started when a rumour spread in the border area that witches possessed by evil spirits were casting spells on people, said the army commander in charge of northern Uganda, Brigadier Henry Tumukunde.
Ugandan troops are deployed in the DRC to back rebels who have waged war on the government in the former Zaire since 1998.
Uganda’s state-owned newspaper quoted a local chief in Aru as saying that suspects were killed after being asked to produce witchcraft paraphernalia and to name other suspected witches.
“We asked people to identify the suspects, we call them (witches) and ask them to produce the charms and name other suspects. Then the mob kills them,” said chief Ovu Sudara, who is among 80 suspected members of the lynch mob detained by the Ugandan military in Aru.
Sudara said that the month of June had been earmarked for the elimination of sorcerers.
Tumukunde said that more than 200 people had now sought refuge with the Ugandan military detachment at Aru. They included men, women and children, many with machete wounds, who had been attacked by the lynch mob but managed to escape.
Fear of evil spirit casting is reportedly common among the Lugbara people, who live on either side of the border.
“Some of the arrested men asked to be freed so they could finish killing off suspected poisoners,” Tumukunde said, adding that the situation was now under control.
“There were some killings going on this week but on Thursday we managed to arrest more of those involved,” he said.
According to the New Vision newspaper, the killings started on June 15 in Yuku village and spread to neighbouring villages. – AFP