Mozambique: Two women murdered for suspected witchcraft in Inhambane

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Two women murdered for suspected witchcraft in Inhambane

11:59 CAT | 30 Apr 2020

Photo: O País

Two women were murdered for suspected witchcraft in Inhambane a week after 11 members of the same family were convicted of the same type of crime in the province.

The first case concerns a 61-year-old woman who was reportedly killed last week by three nephews between the ages of 20 and 28 who are already in police custody, said Juma Dauto, a police spokesman in Inhambane.

“The nephews went to the victim’s house in the dead of night and with a knife took her life, claiming she was a sorceress,” he said.

The second case is of an 80-year-old woman, who is believed to have been killed by a man, presumed to be a relative, in the early hours of Tuesday, when she was sleeping with a seven-year-old child, who is believed to have witnessed the murder.

“Based on the age of the elderly woman [in the second case] and the ease of entry into the home, we suspect that it is a relative and that the crime was committed for superstitious reasons,” Juma Dauto said.

The second victim’s family members said the man entered the house from behind the backyard and assaulted the elderly woman in the head with a blunt object.

The two deaths come a week after 11 members of the same family were convicted of the murder of a 75-year-old man buried alive on suspicion of witchcraft in Inhambane.

The crime was committed after the funeral of a relative, and the 11 accused the man of being responsible for the death.

The group was convicted of the crimes of aggravated murder and cover-up, with sentences of between 18 months and 22 years in prison.

Source: Lusa