Alleged sorcerers killed in Madang

REPORTS reaching Lae from the Naho-Rawa and Nayudo local council areas along Finisterre Range of Rai­coast district, Madang, indicate that six men were killed last Thursday and Friday allegedly for practising sorcery.
This story follows the brutal public slaying of a woman for the same reason last Wednesday in front of a crowd of people, including children, in Mt Hagen.
Local leaders reported the incident to The National that the incident occurred at Beringe, Nangoya, Mungou, Sakasaka and Barim areas of Naho-Rawa and parts of Nayudo LLG.
Romu councillor Eate Siwo and former councilor Pius Jerry reported the matter to this newspaper.
No suspects were arrested because no policeman was in Tauta LLG station, the leaders said.
Existence of various forms of sorcery practice and cult activities infest the interior Naho-Rawa and Nayudo due to lack of government presence, the councillors said.
Killing alleged sorcerers was seen as normal because law and order did not operated in the area to protect human lives since 1975, they said.
Siwo said that some communities had feared for their lives and fled to settle elsewhere with relatives or other nearby villages.
“Heavy sorcery and cult mentality scare most people and nothing is done to prevent such barbaric acts,” Jerry said.
The leaders and people from the area urged Raicoast MP James Gau, Madang Governor Jim Kas, the provincial administration and national government to look into the plight of the people and intervene.