Attacks on the alleged witchcraft of southern Africa have proliferated in recent years. The best known cases are those in Malawi, where beatings of alleged witches are common. The victims of these attacks are adults and almost all women. Since 2019 at least 75 people have been killed in the country for this reason, this year at least five. By law, the spell does not exist in the country, about the heritage of British settlers, but the belief among citizens is widespread: experts recommend that they accept their existence by law in order to ban it and reduce attacks.

Some organizations in the country have expressed concern that these attacks are against the elderly. People accused of witchcraft are guilty of people's accidents and are beaten, killed or evicted. These practices are carried out mainly in rural territories, far from the capital, which makes it difficult for entities that are committed to human rights to intervene.

These attacks receive the pseudonym of “popular justice”, they believe that the fault of these older women is any unexpected and that it is fair to combat it. The truth is that the victims of these attacks are, in general, older women. In this case, the intervention of the authorities is difficult, because in people's beliefs they do not want to take their hands, but, in turn, they are further marginalizing an already vulnerable group.

Colonial Law

Malawin is a controversial debate in which, on the one hand, most people believe in the witchcraft and guilt of the casualties. On the other hand, the impossibility of demonstrating this belief means that it cannot be prosecuted and therefore cannot be legally prohibited. In 1911, the law against the spell was created, with the British colony still in force. His goal was to avoid “dangerous practices” because his premise is that the spell does not exist; therefore, when they started the law, judicial methods were medieval.

At present there have been attempts to adapt this law, especially to change the part that says the spell does not exist. Some reports state that there is a strong conviction in the country, and that only belief in it makes real. “The law cannot oppress people’s beliefs,” explains Robert Chinangwa, a Supreme Court judge and chairman of the committee that issued the report.

The recommendation is therefore clear: they have to acknowledge by law that there is witchcraft. This can help, in his words, people not to comply with the law on their own.