Sorcery warriors want security

By PHOEBE GWANGILO
Implementing agencies addressing sorcery accusation-related violence want specific laws to protect witnesses and service providers involved.
The issue was raised in a recent Sorcery National Action Plan meeting by churches, police officials and human rights defenders.
Tribal Foundation director operations Ruth Kissam shared an experience, saying witnesses in a case she assisted in was reluctant to testify which saw the case stuck out, resulting in the defendant filing a fresh case against her and others.
Enga police commander Assistant Superintendent Epenes Nili said laws should made to protect the police and their work as well.
Department of Justice and Attorney-General Secretary Dr Lawrence Kalinoe said Sorcery Act came into existence in the 1960s and in 2013 it was repealed and included the death penalty.
“The colonial administration passed the Sorcery Act all the way back in 1964 or ’65 and during that time the issue was to recognise the belief in sorcery by our people because a lot of sorcery was real and strong,” he said.
“In 2009, the government realised the problem that sorcery accusation was causing government issues.”
Kalinoe said the Constitutional Law Reform Commission (CLRC) was then directed to review the Sorcery Act. The CLRC did their work and in 2013 they submitted their report.
“One of the recommendation in the report was to repeal the Sorcery Act because it recognised sorcery. So the government directed that we impose the highest penalty in our land, the death penalty, for any sorcery accusation-related killing. So we inserted the new provision 229A that brought in a separate category of homicide called killing a person on account of sorcery-related accusation.”