30 Miles: 30 Victims of Child Sacrifice: PART 4: Mile 10, 11 & 12

Dear friends, thank you for allowing your hearts to go on a journey with me as we pay tribute to the fallen children.  The ones that will never come home.  And their families who sit in wait or in mourning everyday praying for justice! Here is the story of Evra, Steven and Slyvia: Mile 10, 11 and 12.

Mile 10: Name: Evra Mudaali: Age: 3 years old From: Buikwe District Date of Attack: 13th June 2010. Evra’s parents both work and the child was frequently left in the care of her grandparents in Bugoba village’s Buikwe district.  On June 13th 2010 Evra’s mother, 21 year old Rosemary Anyango, went to care for a sick relative while her 24 year old father, Ronald Serwajjo, was at work at the local video hall. Evra’s grandparents, Agnes Namanya, aged 52 years old, and John Baptist Serwajjo, aged 70 years old, were looking after her when she went missing.  Five days later, Evra’s body was found dumped at the shores of Lake Victoria with a hole in her armpits. Her heart and left ear were missing.  After investigating the crime, the police came to the shocking conclusion that the girl’s grandmother had led her to the shrine at 11pm on the night she disappeared.  At the shrine many of her family were present including her uncles, Yudu Nakacho, David Mukulu, Lauben Mande; her aunt Jennifer Night; along with her grandparents. Several media reports at the time claimed that Evra’s “family sacrificed her during a ritual aimed at initiating one of the family members into traditional healing.” An incision was made under her left armpit through which her heart was removed, and her left ear was cut off. The sacrificial ritual was believed to initiate Yudu Nakacho, her uncle, into traditional healing believing that the witchcraft rite would bring him success. After these atrocities, and the completion of the ceremony, Evra’s body was buried in a shallow grave before it was dug up and dumped near Lake Victoria.  After the discovery of her body, all those suspected of involvement in her ritual murder were arrested, and mob justice prevailed as their houses were burnt down and all the village shrines destroyed. The acting district Police Commander, Najibu Waiswa confirmed that Evra was murdered in the shrine and said that the police were hunting for the witchdoctor who led the ritual ceremony along with other family members who had run away. The New Vision website reported that “the suspects would be charged with murder and human sacrifice” however to date no one has stood trial for the crime. Evra was an innocent 3-year-old girl who was betrayed by people closest to her, by those that should have been protecting her from harm – shockingly, her own family.

Mile 11: Name: Steven, E. Kironde; Age: 6 years old From: Nyamwezi in Jinja district; Date of Attack: 5th July 2009.  Steven lived with his grandmother, Tepenensi Nombogwe, in the above village after his father passed away.  On 5th July 2009, Steven returned home from school at about 1:00pm and had lunch. In the afternoon, his grandmother prepared a basin of water outside for Steven to have a bath. In the usual Ugandan rural setting it is usual for children to bathe in the compound outside. Steven’s grandmother who was going to bathe him realized that that she didn’t have any soap. She left Steven by the bath and went to a near-by shop just around the corner from her home to buy some. When she returned, Steven was gone.  Extremely alarmed at the disappearance of her grandson, Mrs. Nombogwe contacted the neighbors but no one had seen the child. A search party was organized immediately and Mrs. Nombogwe and the people from the community went in pursuit of the missing child but he could not be found. At about 5:00 pm, the police were informed. Mrs. Nombogwe spent a sleepless night but by the morning no clues or evidence were uncovered. At 6.00 am, the following morning, 6th July 2009, there was a grisly discovery made in the plantation of maize fields behind his house.  The decapitated body of Steven was found with his head separated from his body; his esophagus had been removed. A Polaroid photograph was taken for evidence.  The police tracked down the witchdoctor suspected of involvement in his kidnapping and ritual sacrifice and he was arrested and locked up. However, 3 weeks later, the station head policeman tried to coerce the grandmother with 500,000 Ugandan Shillings (About $ 220.00) in a bid to convince her to drop the case. Mrs. Nombogwe rejected the offer, insisting instead that the case should be taken to court. By September 2011, there had been no developments in the case, and Mrs. Nombogwe is still waiting for justice for the murder of grandson.  The case had not been heard and is one of several cases that have been backlogged in the court system.

Mile 12: Name Slyvia, K; Age 12 years old; From Ntunda B village, Nsambya Sub County, Kiboga District.  Reported to Kiboga Police station on March 21^st, 2009. Slyvia’s body was found in the bush around 150 meters away from her parent’s home with parts of her private parts cut off.  12 suspects, including a witchdoctor, Waryomu Mande, were arrested and charged with murder. Case was committed to High Court.  Hearing in court: date not yet set.

Important Note: These stories are excerpts of a full report on child sacrifice in Uganda by the Jubilee Campaign and Kyampisi Childcare Ministries which can be accessed here: http://www.jubileecampaign.co.uk/child-sacrifice-report.  On this page you can also sign a petition to end child sacrifice.  If you live in the UK, please don’t hesitate to browse here for more information on how to engage and support the End Child Sacrifice Campaign

For more information on Rose's Journey: http://narrowroadintl.org/Narrow_Road__Roses_Journey.html