Man Beheads Elderly Woman Whose Son Practiced Witchcraft

A man was arrested Tuesday for beheading an elderly woman over witchcraft. The incident took place in Arua district of Uganda on June 28.

Police said the victim, identified as 60-year-old Filista Candiru, was in the garden of her property when she was attacked by Geoffrey Aluma Angupala. Candiru’s daughter said she and her mother were working in the garden when she decided to get back home to prepare food. A while later, she heard her sister-in-law’s screams and rushed to the garden only to find her mother dead.

Police said Angupala wanted to kill Candiru’s son, Michael Alia, for practicing witchcraft in the village. However, when Alia fled from the village fearing his safety, Angupala decided to kill his mother instead. Accordingly, Angupala attacked and beheaded the elderly woman.

The body was handed over to the family members for burial. Meanwhile, officials blamed the incident on drug abuse and ignorance. The investigation was ongoing.

In a similar incident in June, a woman and daughter were killed by three men over allegations of witchcraft in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Police said the woman’s husband, Subhash Khandait, filed a complaint stating that the wife of one of the accused fell ill after attending a function at their home and this led to her family members taking this step.

"One of the accused told the villagers that the women were witches and responsible for deaths and diseases in the village. They attacked the women in the night and killed them brutally," a police officer said, adding that all the accused fled the scene after committing the crime.