Law must confront sorcery-related crime

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – A Papua New Guinea church leader says strengthened laws and better law enforcement is needed to combat sorcery-related violence.

More than 100 men charged over the killings of seven people – including two young children – who they believed were practising sorcery, or sanguma, will face trial in Madang next month.

Father Victor Roche of the Catholic Bishops Conference of PNG and Solomon Islands says he hopes judgement in this case might stop communities taking the law into their own hands regarding sorcery.

He told Dateline Pacific that sorcery-related attacks appear to be growing and have spread extensively from the Highlands.

“Twenty years ago sorcery-related killings were not that common in the other provinces. So it is a sorry situation now that it is spreading, and we have to do something.

“I tell you that the churches are really playing a good role in this, but the government has to come up with a better law and better protection for the police. Because the police are also unable to do anything about it.

“The police, the judiciary system, when they have any cases of sorcery-related killings or prosecution, the village judges, should make sure that it is done properly, handled well

“But they tend to say, ‘no, that is a matter for the community, we don’t want to deal with it’.That’s not the way to go. Because if it’s not dealt with immediately then the people take the law into their own hands and they go ahead and kill them.

He said often communities close ranks after something’s happened, so that people who might be witnesses or involved are unwilling to testify against people who have killed or punished so-called sorcerers or witches.

“That’s the case many times. But actual witnesses, they don’t want to testify before the judges, because it could result in a friend’s conviction. And so this problem goes on.

“ I should say that a lot of community workers and the church leaders have shown courage in trying to stop these sorcery-related killings or sorcery-related prosecutions of men or women involved.

Father Roche hope the trial, in Madang could be a step in the right direction?

“ I hope this case of more than a hundred people involved, I hope when they are given proper judgement, it might put a halt to some of those people who take the laws into their own hands and kill people they think are involved in sorcery.”

- RNZI