How witchcraft claims are fueling violence and fear in Mombasa

When citizens in a random Chinese city are busy inventing technologies to help humanity and becoming a superpower, somewhere in Mombasa, people are busy trading bizzare witchcraft allegations.

In the recent past, Mombasa despite being the second largest city in the country has seen a surge in cases of people being accused of practicing witchcraft.

Recently, there has been a wave of allegations of people harvesting men’s testicles through black magic and witchcraft.

The alleged victims claim that after greeting some people, they realize that either their testicles are missing or shrunk to scary sizes. Police have recorded cases in Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi counties where five people claim to have either lost their genitalia and their testicles shrunk.

On Friday, a woman in Mombasa narrowly escaped death after the residents of Kwa Bulo nearly lynched her over witchcraft claims.

The woman was accused of casting a spell that shrunk the genitalia of a young boy.

In a similar incident in Kongowea, Mombasa County, a man was almost killed by boda boda riders and the public after being accused of causing the testicles of a rider to disappear.

In both incidents, the public without verifying through medical examinations, illogically decided to mob the suspects, depicting a society stuck in retrogressive belief systems.

Last week in Mombasa police engaged in running battle with traders, boda boda riders and the public to save four men from being lynched on suspicion of harvesting testicles through witchcraft.

The four were accused of mysteriously causing a businessman’s testicles to shrink, a situation that has not been witnesed in Nigerian movies, which are known for sophiscated sorcery and witchcraft scenes.

The song Vavayo, says 'these days witches are not the elderly anymore' (siku hizi wachawi si wazee’) depict how the current generation has been roped into beliefs of sorcery and witchcraft.

The beliefs of witchcraft cut across all cadres of society from the poor, rich, illiterate and literate.

In 2020, a prominent Mombasa based lawyer Musa Aziz told the court how he was swindled Sh20 million by a Tanzanian witchdoctor in his attempt to enrich himself with his client’s monies. · 

The lawyer said that the witchdoctor convinced him he could multiply the Sh20 million and help him acquire mystical "red mercury".

However, Aziz ended up with art and craft drawings of heaven, while the witchdoctor disappeared with the cash.

The lawyer was later charged with theft charges over the missing client funds.

In 2017, a self-proclaimed witchdoctor Stephen Mang'era claimed that the Sh18.5 million in cash seized from him in 2017 was part of a Sh50 million payment from an Indian client for treating a disease.

In the past only few tribes were revered as notorious in sorcery and witchcraft, however, today, all tribes are roped in the vice, a point that has paved way to a thriving business of witchdoctors who feign as spiritual intercessors.

In Kilifi and Kwale counties, the elderly people have been killed and maimed by their kin on suspicion of practising witchcraft.

In the counties of Kisii and Nyamira, stories are told of people looking at you with evil eyes and invoking illness and objects (Ebibiriri) into the one’s body.

Ukambani is renowned to be the hotpot of witchdoctors who are able to exorcise demons, jinis and witchcraft from people and homesteads.

The belief of witchcraft has almost crippled development in some villages of Luo Nyanza with people expressing fear of being bewitched to death if they dare build a stonewalled house with iron sheet roof.

Consequently, in some villages in Nyamira, people no longer rare cattle over beliefs that the cattle will not produce milk after evil eyes cast a spell on them.

The villagers now rely on milk sold from the neighboring counties of Kericho and Bomet.

According to a police report from Kazandani, Mombasa County, a woman identified as Lilian Awour was attacked and assaulted at her home by the public after she was accused by the neighbors of practicing witchcraft.

Awour was accused of causing disappearance of genitalia of a young boy at Kwa Bullo area.

Police arrested four suspects behind the narrative after rescuing Awour from the mob.

The suspects included 29-year-old Abednego Wanjala, Agnes Charo and Minicent Mutiso.

The police detained the women and escorted the man and the minor, a boy, for psychiatrist test before arraignment before Shanzu Law Courts.

However, Mombasa County Commissioner Mohamed Nur said that such allegations are tactics used by criminals to steal from people. The County Commissioner warned the public against people maligning and defaming other people’s characters.

He said the doctors had confirmed that the people complaining of their missing testicles hat them intact and they would face the law for causing chaos in public.

“These are new tricks used by criminals to steal from others. When the criminals see that you have a phone and money, they claim one of them has been bewitched and then immediately, the public descends on the victim,” said Nur.

The Commissioner said they arrested one man in Likoni who claimed to have lost his genitals and upon medical examination, the doctors found it was intact.

He said the accusation of witchcraft and attacks on the suspects have become rampant especially in market areas of Marikiti and Kongowea.

“We witnessed the chaos at Kongowea where a man was injured by a mob and also another incident in Marikiti market. All these aimed at creating chaos to steal from people,” said Nur.

The commissioner said they will go after all those who were involved in mob justice on innocent people.

In a similar incident at Kongowea, a bodaboda rider Joesph Muche said that while ferrying a pillion passenger, a 46 years old Ristley Nyimiri at 10:AM toward Mombasa Governor’s office, he alleged that his testicles shrunk and disappeared.

Muche said his testicles disappeared after Nyimiri touched him.

The boda boda rider raised an alarm and his fellow riders descended on Nyimiri who was rescued by private security officers.

The riders overpowered police from Kongowea station leading to a reinforcement and shooting in the air to disperse the agitated mob.

Further, two men from Samburu, Kwale County accused of practicing witchcraft were also rescued after a man accused them of harvesting his genitals after greeting them.

Kofa Fafi, 53, and 26-year-old Athman Nyamawi were rescued by police from a mob who accused them of witchcraft.

It is alleged that the two greeted Tsuma Mwavadu and shortly after his genital disappeared.

The two were rescued by police after an angry mob cornered them near a mosque and threatened to lynch them.

The police said the public followed the two men to the station demanding their release and almost overpowered the police, forcing a reinforcement of GSU officers and police from Taru police station.