Africa Eye investigates a disturbing series of attacks on elderly individuals accused of witchcraft along Kenya’s Kilifi coast, uncovering the underlying motives behind these brutal assaults.
Seventy-four-year-old Tambala Jefwa gazes emptily as his wife, Sidi, carefully removes his shirt, revealing a long scar running down his chest. She points out another scar on his head, explaining how attackers pulled back his scalp and sewed it shut after a vicious assault. Mr. Jefwa, living 80km inland from Malindi, has been targeted twice, losing an eye and nearly his life, purportedly due to accusations of witchcraft. However, the Jefwas suspect that a land dispute with family members provoked the attacks, rather than genuine beliefs in witchcraft.
The couple, who cultivate over 30 acres of land growing maize and raising chickens, assert that greed over land ownership motivates such violence. According to them, accusations of witchcraft are often used as a pretext to justify attacks, garner public sympathy, and evade accountability for crimes rooted in disputes over property.
Reports from Kenyan human rights organization Haki Yetu, detailed in “The Aged, on Edge,” highlight a grim reality: one elderly person is murdered each week along the Kilifi coast under the guise of witchcraft. Julius Wanyama, a program officer at Haki Yetu, explains that accusations of witchcraft conveniently justify killings, especially of elderly men who typically hold land ownership, which is crucial in the absence of formal documentation.
The lack of land titles forces communities to rely on customary inheritance practices, often leading to disputes among family members. Mr. Wanyama emphasizes that eliminating elderly landowners resolves these disputes in favor of those seeking to gain control of valuable land parcels.
Approximately an hour’s drive from the Jefwa family’s land lies a refuge for the elderly, run by the Malindi District Association. Here, around 30 elderly victims of attacks find shelter, unable to return to their properties due to threats and violence.
Sixty-three-year-old Katana Chara, who resides at the center, recounts his ordeal after being attacked with a machete in his home, resulting in the loss of both hands. Although accused of witchcraft in connection with a child’s death, Mr. Chara believes the attack was driven by covetous intentions towards his six acres of seaside property.
The stories of Tambala Jefwa and Katana Chara underscore a pervasive issue where accusations of witchcraft serve as a pretext for seizing valuable land, leaving elderly victims vulnerable to violence and displacement.
