SEE IT SHOUT OUT

WHAT IS KINDOKI ?

• FUNDAMENTALLY PRIMITIVE BELIEF ORIGINALLY FROM CONGO IN WHICH SOMEONE IS ACCUSED OF WITCHRAFT ACTIVITY.

• The belief in Kindoki, a kind of witchcraft, is not uncommon in DR Congo, but there are concerns about how it is following migrants into their new communities in Europe.

KRISTY BAMU’S CASE

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17228931• http://www.channel4.com/news/couple-

found-guilty-of-witchcraft-murder

• Kristy Bamu, 15, was tortured and drowned in a bath on Christmas Day 2010 by his sister Magalie and her partner Eric Bikubi. His sister Magalie and her boyfriend Eric Bikubi, who have been found guilty of murder, believed he was possessed by an evil spirit which had to be driven from him.

WHY ?

WEAPONS THAT KILLED KRISTY BAMU

Is this case unique?

In 2000 in London, England, an eight-year-old Ivorian girl Victoria Adjo Climbié (2 November 1991 – 25 February 2000) was tortured and murdered by her guardians.

The Victoria Climbié Inquiry Report

• “Her death has become one of those major modern occasions where there seems

• to have been a collective sense of empathy for a stranger’s fate. She has become an

• embodiment of the betrayal, vulnerability and public abandonment of children.

• The inquiry must mark the end of child protection policy built on a hopeless

• process of child care tragedy, scandal, inquiry, findings, brief media interest and

• ad hoc political response. There is now a rare chance to take stock and rebuild”

Issues• Public understanding limited by media coverage which is

often unqualified and focuses on this type of child abuse as ‘other worldly’Lack of dialogue between practitioners and communities.

• Lack of support for victims who become witnesses in the judicial system.

• More work could be done to improve the number and success of prosecutions.

Solutions

• Develop communications and messages shared across the partners.

• Encourage provision of community support for witnesses.

• Promote more join-up between criminal justice and safeguarding.

AFRUCA • AFRUCA (Africans Unite Against Child Abuse) works directly with families

of African origin to support parents to keep their • children safe and to help them to be successful. This is achieved by

promoting positive parenting skills, providing knowledge • about child protection, offering support to parents with children in the

child protection system and providing information • about issues that affect African communities in the UK. A particular focus

is to help those parents understand child problems and who may in the past have interpreted these traits as a sign of witchcraft or spirit possession. Work has been on going since 2007 and over 2000 parents have benefited. In June 2012, AFRUCA published a Manual on Child Protection for African Parents in the UK, bringing together advice on safeguarding and parenting for the benefit of this community.

Who is this man?

Dr Richard Hoskins, specialist in African magic, was forced to confront the tragedy of his own daughter's mysterious death.

The boy in the river

A shocking true story of ritual murder and sacrifice in the heart of London

The boy in the river

• Adam" is the name given to a young Nigerian boy whose torso was discovered in the River Thames, London on 21 September 2001. He is believed to have been between the ages of four and seven. The murder is believed to be linked to a ritual killing. Despite the use of forensic science, the Metropolitan Police Service have not caught the killer.

ANY QUESTIONS?