02-07-2025
Six people accused of witchcraft are killed by mob who burn two alive, stone others to death or fatally beat them with clubs
Six people accused of witchcraft have been burned alive, stoned or beaten to death in an act of 'horrific, unspeakable barbarity' in Burundi.
The mob dragged the group from their homes on Monday after accusations were made by members of the ruling party's powerful youth movement, known as the Imbonerakure, according to witnesses.
Imbonerakure is described as a militia by the United Nations and rights organisations.
The two men who were burned alive have been named locally as Rwoba and Bimara, as well as another man, Vinicius, who was beaten with sticks.
The attacks came after unfounded rumours circulated around the cause of recent deaths including that of a teacher and child, RPA said.
Locals blamed witchcraft as the reason, prompting the attacks.
Bujumbura provincial governor Desire Nsengiyumva said yesterday that 12 people had been arrested over the incident. Four more have since been arrested, Le Journal Africa reported.
Mr Nsengiyumva denounced the 'unacceptable mob justice', saying locals had wrongly attributed recent unexplained deaths to the victims.
The tiny nation is predominantly Christian, and traditional beliefs are deeply rooted with unexplained deaths often blamed on witchcraft.
Only last year, the Supreme Court sentenced a former prime minister to life imprisonment for charges 'including using witchcraft to threaten the president's life, destabilising the economy and illegal enrichment'.
The official said three further people were also beaten but were ultimately rescued after police intervened.
One victim remains in hospital, Le Journal Africa reported.
'A group of young Imbonerakure entered the homes of about 10 people accused of witchcraft. They then attacked them,' according to the official from Gasarara Hill, 10 kilometres east of Burundi's economic capital, Bujumbura.
'Six people were killed, two of them burned alive. The others were beaten to death with clubs or stoned with large stones thrown at their heads,' the official said.
'It was horrific, unspeakable barbarity.'
Several unverified videos have circulated on social media since Tuesday but two clips set on Gasarara Hill, in the Nyabibondo area, were authenticated to AFP by two witnesses, who identified the group as the Imbonerakure.
Several rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, have accused the Imbonerakure of killing and torturing dozens of people, particularly under the authoritarian rule of former president Pierre Nkurunziza, in power from 2005 until 2020.
