Child Sacrifice in Uganda

In the East African Country of Uganda, a dark and malevolent practice of child sacrifice reemerged that is sweeping the nation. When it comes to child sacrifice the image comes to mind is horror movies, ancient cults or by gone eras but it is very real in Uganda. 

In Uganda, children are abducted by witch doctors who sacrifice them in order to provide their clients with success, prosperity, and good fortune in business. Witch Doctors pen the victims ( often young children), castrate them, bleed them, mutilate them, and then kill them.  According to the Gospel Coalition, Witch Doctors’ view children’s blood as being pure and yielding better results for ritual sacrifice. Witch Doctors and Africans believe that since by sacrificing children they will be able to better appease the spirits and gain more power from them for their aims. 

According to World Vision, many Ugandan mothers will pierce the ears of the children in order to protect them from the Witch Doctors. Children who are “perfect” ages, 2-15 are abducted by Witch Doctors and the people believe that children who pierce their will not be sacrificed because they have mutilated their bodies. 

According to the BBC, police in Uganda investigated 38 cases of ritual murder, since 2006. In the same, BBC report Pastor Peter Sewakiryanga from Kyampisi Childcare Ministries Church disputes the national statistics. Pastor Sewakiryanga said, that just in his parish child sacrifice abductions exceed the national average. According to the BBC,  a report released by the Jubilee Campaign states that at least 900 children in Uganda became child sacrifice victims. Police seem reluctant to investigate child sacrifice accusations and in instances reported in the media over the last seven years even attempted to cover the crimes up. 

Anna Ipaka and Children on the Edge, campaigned in Uganda to pass the Prevention and Prohibition of Human Sacrifice Bill in 2020 in the Uganda Parliament. The bill passed the Uganda Parliament on May 4th, 2021 and the Ugandan President signed it into law on July 14th, 2021. The bill made human sacrifice officially illegal and gave communities a legal protection for their children.  The police still must enforce this law and only time will tell if it brings the victims justice.