A 43-year-old witch doctor identified as Swaibu Murundi a resident of Butamba Kayabwe town council in Mpigi has been arrested for the aggravated defilement of five girls four of whom are his daughters in a ritual practice.
According to Fred Enanga the Uganda police spokesperson Monday, May 13, 2024, while addressing the media at Police headquarters in Naguru, the witch doctor started the practice in 2013 after the mothers of the daughters had separated from him.
The fifth of the girls was a daughter of a friend whom he had been paying school fees for.
“The witch doctor was caught by the police in Katonga division and Mpigi CPS, these 5 young girls he has been raping are aged 16 years, while two have 15 years and a 14-year-old and a 12-year-old,”
Enanga says that Swaib started raping the girls every time they turned 12 years as directed by his spirits.
“This one was raping the children, every time they reached 12 years depending on his spirits; at night the girls would gather in the kitchen and after eating, one of them would go and clean the father’s bedroom and they would end up being raped from there,” Enanga said.
“This witch doctor Swaib threatened the children that if they told anyone, he would bewitch them and they would be killed by the cow horns he had. So the girls keep this secret of abuse,” Enanga added.
Police has opened five cases of defilement and 4 cases of incest according to Enanga and has warned parents against neglecting children even after separation.
“The parents of these girls had separated from the father. We call upon parents if you separate with a person, try and find out the conditions in which your children are in, “he urged
Last year in August police in Jinja City arrested a 70-year-old witch doctor for allegedly raping his female client, who had sought his services at a cost of 120,000 Ugandan shillings.
While in 2021, the High Court in Kiboga sentenced a witch doctor to 30 years in jail for defiling two sisters and raping their mother.
These among many cases highlight the disturbing practice of some witch doctors exploiting and sexually assaulting vulnerable women and children who come to them for spiritual services.
The Ugandan government has taken steps to address this issue by arresting and prosecuting perpetrators.
However, more needs to be done to protect women and children from such abuse by those in positions of trust and authority within traditional healing practices.
