'Witches' face lynch mob wrath

Brazzaville - More than 80 people suspected of practising witchcraft have been killed by lynch mobs in northern Republic of Congo in the past four years, independent weekly Tam-Tam d'Afrique reported on Thursday.

In nine districts of the Cuvette region, in the north of the smaller of the two Congos, which lies to the west of the vast former Zaire, 87 elderly people have been killed "in cold blood" after being singled out by a local witchdoctor as being having caused the death of a family member, Gatsono Yoca Iccoulat, a regional official in Congo's Cuvette region, told the weekly.

"Very often, when someone dies in a family, a delegation is immediately set up to consult a witchdoctor, who is asked to identify the perpetrator of the death, based on the belief in these parts that no one dies of natural causes," said Yoca.

Once the witchdoctor has accused a family member of causing the death, "the hapless person is handed over to the public who kill him or her in cold blood," said Yoca.

http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_1431447,00.html

Satan, The Bush Crime Family's Sheriff in Republic of Congo.