News

A mob in a Tanzanian village killed two women and burned their bodies after accusing them of using witchcraft to turn a child into a ghost.

Nhumba Nolelaga, 38, and Mwanandama Ndama, 55, were attacked and murdere at Idahina village in Shinyanga district after they were implicated in the death of a seven-year-old boy.

The Citizen newspaper said the boy, Maduhu Masunga, died after he was bitten by a black mamba while sleeping.

However, at his funeral, rumours spread that he was not dead but had turned into a ghost to work in the women's farms.

A mob formed after it was reported that the boy was seen alive under the two women's beds.

The mob had also accused Nolelaga and Ndama of kidnapping another woman, who went missing from her home but was later found unconscious in a nearby paddy field in the same village.

Reports said the mob ‘questioned’ the women then murdered them and burned their bodies.

The report said four or five elderly women are killed each month in connected with witchcraft associated beliefs. It said many in Shinyanga Region believe elderly women with red eyes are suspected to be witches.

Published: 28 October 2008
Issue: 1344