African Crime Analysis with a Twist

Villagers in Kilifi County are on a killing spree, targeting suspected witches and meting out the ultimate form of justice — death. The killings, first witnessed two years ago but somehow ebbed, are now on a resurgence in the area. Three elderly people — two of them a couple — have been killed in the past one week alone in their houses. The County covers Bahari, Malindi and Magarini constituencies. At least 10 people suspected to be witches were brutally killed in Kilifi County in the past three months, a police crime analysis report indicates.

The latest such incident occurred last Saturday when three men beheaded Mr Kazungu Mranja of Timboni village in Mjanaheri location after he was accused of engaging in witchcraft. Police in Malindi have launched a manhunt for the killers. Last week, a couple, Mzee Mzungu Charo, 70, and his wife Mrs Luvuno Kapombe, 60, were brutally murdered in their house at Pumwani village in Magarini on the same witchcraft suspicions. In the past two years alone, more than 27 elderly people, including an assistant chief, Mr Albert Mulanda Lughanje of Shomela location, have lost their lives in the hands of armed gangs.

Coast Provincial Police Officer Leo Nyongesa expressed confidence that his officers will bring to an end killings of innocent people in the county. According to the PPO, a crime analysis done in August and September this year indicates that the 10 deaths were recorded at Kilifi and two in Malindi. “Elderly persons are mostly targeted and police officers will not relent in their quest to bring to book those behind the killings,” Mr Nyongesa said. But police further suspect that the figure could be higher since some deaths are caused by the victims’ relatives.