"Stop ritualistic killing. It will not pay you anything. It will not make you rich, nor will it give you a job. If anyone is found guilty of this practice, I will sign his death warrant without winking my eye and I will sleep well."
These were the words of Liberia's transitional power-sharing government Chairman Charles Gyude Bryant in reaction to reports of an upsurge in ritualistic killings in post-war Liberia.
These threats by the Liberian head of state have however in no way deterred ritualistic killers. Rather, there has been an upsurge in this primitive, barbaric practice. Notwithstanding Bryant's threat, radio reports of missing children in the capital Monrovia are common.
Just two days after the Chairman's pronouncement last month, a 19-year-old youth identified as Archibald Dakai was travelling on a motorbike in northeastern Nimba County when he was abducted by a young man who asked him for a lift on his motorbike.
He then led the youth to a group of ritualistic killers (known in Liberia as "Heartmen") who injected him with formaldehyde. The victim's decaying body was discovered later with parts missing.
Last Thursday, citizens of the central provincial city of Gbarnga went on the rampage, burning down vehicles and a Nigerian provision shop in protest at the upsurge in ritualistic murders in Bong County.
The protest was sparked off by the abduction of a youth called Junior Korto who was ambushed on the Gbarnga-Monrovia highway. He survived the attack, but sustained severe injuries during the scuffle.
Korto's attempted murder is just one in a series of ritualistic activities in Bong County, including the case of a woman whose body was found with breasts and fingers removed a month ago in Sergeant Kollie Town on the Gbarnga-Monrovia highway.
Three people have been arrested in the county in connection with ritualistic activities, according to police.
In another case, a Ghanaian identified as Ansu and a woman called Musu were seized by ritualistic murderers from their canoe as they travelled by river in eastern Rivercess County. The Rivercess County Superintendent Sampson Cephus told state radio that Musu's body was later found with organs missing. Ansu's body has not yet been recovered.
The justice ministry said that it is holding nearly 20 people in connection with involvement in ritualistic killings, a capital crime which carries the death penalty under Liberian law.
The ministry said it has received numerous reports of ritualistic killings by the so-called "Heartmen," with 13 incidents reported in eastern Grand Bassa County during just two weeks last month.
Residents of Grand Bassa organized community-watch teams to clamp down on perpetrators of this crime. There are also reports of ritualistic killings in southeastern River Gee and Maryland Counties.
Ritualistic killing is an age-old practice in Liberia. According to 70-year-old Logan Town resident Alfred Cooper, Heartmen usually remove the tongue, private parts, breasts, the skin of the palm and other vital parts, after killing their victims.
The parts are used to prepare talismans believed to endow users with power and riches. Talismans prepared from human parts are also believed to bring victory to users in political contests.
"This is why there is usually an upsurge in ritualistic murders during elections," Cooper said.
"Only mentally sound people in good health with some prospects in life are usually murdered. It is the sorcerer who prepares the talisman that decides whether or not a male or female is needed for a certain talisman," 65-year-old Ahmadu Belloe said.
Ritualistic killings take various forms in different parts of Liberia. What has made the practice so widespread is the fact that talismans prepared from human parts are used by persons from all walks of life regardless of social status or ethnic or educational background.
Ahmadu Belloe feels that this practice is rampant because past leaders have not grappled with the issue head-on. It remains to be seen whether Chairman Bryant or his successors will be more successful.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese