Friday, February 20, 2009

++Orombi responds to increase in child sacrifice in Uganda

Churches through out Uganda are planning 40 days of prayer and fasting over the increase in human sacrifice. Traditional African healers and herbalists have turned to sacrificing children in their rituals, the practice referred to as Muti, or medicine murder.

The Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Luke Orombi is joining with Pentecostal, Orthodox, Catholic and the Seventh Day Adventist churches in this united prayer campaign. The New Vision website reports:
He said the drive was aimed at making Ugandans repent and ask God to forgive and heal the land.

“There is greed, corruption and an inhuman thirst to spill innocent blood because our society is degenerating owing to greed, Godlessness and moral corruption,” he said.

Orombi appealed to head teachers to make convenient reporting time for children and let them go back home before dark.

The Ugandan government released statistics in January 2009 that showed a 600% increase in ritual murder:
The state minister for internal affairs, Matia Kasaija, regretted that there was a 600% increase in ritual murder, from the three reported in 2007, up to 18 cases last year.

Kasaija noted that the problem was compounded by the increase in other crimes affecting children like kidnapping, abduction and child stealing.

In 2006, there were 230 such cases. They dropped to 108 in 2007 but shot up to 318 last year. He said sensitisation of the public on the vice, team work, strengthening the child and family protection unit and setting up a dedicated counter-trafficking unit would curb child sacrifice and human trafficking.

In November, the Ugandan government reported that a ten year old girl had been abducted to be sacrificed by witch doctors, but was released:
According to the police spokesman Kampala extra region Simeo Nsubuga the child, Rebecca Sylvia 10 years old was abducted three weeks ago from Makula Foundation school in Mukono by Robinah who pretended to know her parents.

He says Robinah persuaded the child to go with her promising to take her to her aunt who wanted to see her.

She was taken to Nakasongola at night to a dark grass thatched house and given a mat to sleep on as she waited to be sacrificed.

At night two men examined the child but fortunately told the lady who had brought the girl that it was a bad deal.

She was later put on the Bodaboda to a trading center in Nakasongola where a Good Samaritan picked her to Central Police station in Kampala.

Nsubuga appealed to parents to be careful with children especially those who are ten years old and below because they are potential targets for witchdoctors.



Hat Tip: Virtue Online

2 comments:

Dr.D said...

I really had no idea that this still went on, even in Africa.

In all likelihood, the Obama administration will solve the problem in Uganda by bringing many of those folks to the USA where they can bring their colorful native practices to the US. I believe it is called "celebrate diversity."

Perpetua said...

We can see how important Christianity is to the people of Uganda when we read about things like this. Their faith must be very strong to do battle against this evil.