Nine people rescued in security raid on Mpigi shrine
Some of the people who were rescued from the shrine. PHOTO/ SADAT MBOGO
What you need to know:
- The victims who were found emaciated and seemingly starved for days told authorities that they had been sleeping on the bare floor with no blankets to cover themselves
A security team led by Deputy RDC in Mpigi District, Mr Hassan Kasibante has rescued nine people, including three children under the age of seven who were reportedly kept in a shrine owned by a one Sam Lutaaya, a witch doctor at Kawoomya village, Kagenda parish in Kituntu sub-county.
The shrine was raided during a security operation to apprehend fake witch doctors and other traditionalists operating illegally in villages of Mpigi District.
The operation was supported by community-based organizations; Cherished Children’s Foundation (CCF) and Project Rescue Children (PRC) together with local leaders and members of Uganda N’obuwangwa Bwaffe ( a group of licensed witchdoctors).
“We will not allow acts of faking our people that they are treated. These witchdoctors are agents of Satan leading our people to caves of death or death valleys. We are seriously hunting for them and all their operations shall be wiped out,” Mr Kasibante, assured residents after the operation.
The victims who were found emaciated and seemingly starved for days told authorities that they had been sleeping on the bare floor with no blankets to cover themselves, as directed by the witch doctor.
“…they have only been feeding fruits and not allowed to bath. They were also told to shave off all their hair---from head to toe,” Mr Hasan Ssekikubo, Kawoomya village chairperson said.
They are admitted to Mpigi Health Center IV for treatment.
“We will not relent in our mission to rescue the young ones, working closely with the police and other authorities to extend efforts across the country,” said Mr Adam Whittington, the founder of Project Rescue Children (PRC).
Mr Kasibante, however, ordered for immediate closure of a big cave dug by a clique of traditionalists from Buganda’s Kkobe clan at Teketwe Hill in Buwama Town Council.
“We (security officers) have taken over the hill temporarily and operations here are terminated with immediate effect. Our preliminary investigations show the cave is a danger to human life and the activities that are being carried out in this venue are not known,” Mr Kasibante told the press.
Two people from this place were detained at Buwama Police Station to help in investigations. Their arrest comes after police in the district recently raided a shrine at Kabanga village in Mpigi Town Council and discovered 17 human skulls in four metallic cases.
The skulls were discovered at a site belonging to Tabula Bbosa Lujja, a key suspect in the murder of former head of Ndiga Clan in Buganda Kingdom, Daniel Bbosa.
