Tales from the Dark Side
How much witchcraft and child sacrifice is found in Kisiizi and Uganda. West Africa is well known for having this alongside Christianity and Islam. Here it is much less common, but certainly is exists, even in Kisiizi. As foreigners who are practicing Christians, we do not come face to face with witchcraft. But our Ugandan colleagues told us the following cases from their own lives or villages:
The Man Who Moo’ed
There was a man who had his cow stolen. Loss of a cow is a substantial loss. He consulted a witchdoctor who came from the area. The witchdoctor was paid just 33p, made some incantations, said the thief was a relative, and said that very soon it would become apparent who stole the cow. The witchdoctor went home, but even before he got there, a man was seen climbing to the hill from where the lost cow was taken, moo’ing.
Returning Stolen Goods
A man hired a window fitter in Kampala to replace and fit new windows. This man stole goods from the property. The house owner consulted a witchdoctor, who put out a curse, and told the owner and his family to be ready for a visit the next Sunday. Low and behold, a man turned up that following Sunday with plastic bags containing a camera and other goods, stolen from that very house.
So It Works?
Yes and no. Our friends tell us there are many many fraudulent witchdoctors. People who skim money off desperate people, people seeking healing for incurable illnesses, or a short circuit to exam success. But some are the real thing. We are not talking about herbalists using traditional wisdom of the (real) healing properties of the many plants that grow in this tropical region. We are talking about people who contact dark spiritual forces. Some who use (real) child or human sacrifice, often as a quick way to wealth. They look for children or women who are unblemished with circumcision or pierced ears. We know of local people who pierce the ears of their small daughters just a a preventative measure.
Are You At Risk?
Not if you are sensible. A colleague told us that his family was quite involved with the dark side. But he became a real Christian. When his father died, there was pressure from other uncles/aunts to continue with the dark family tradition. But no – the actual family all became Believers and the power of witchcraft ceased. This was the point made by others too. The power of real witches is indeed real. But it does not prevail over Believers.
Post Script
Though we now have left Uganda, we still hear that child sacrifice issues rumble on. Indeed, the opportunity of a minority to get rich while the majority struggle in the face of massive inflation, has made some resort to “dark arts”. See the recent article on the BBC.
Bill and Wanda's Incredible Journey 
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