30 Miles: 30 Victims of Child Sacrifice: PART FIVE: MILES 13, 14 & 15

Dear friends, these are difficult stories to tell and even more difficult to comprehend.  I have been sitting at my computer all afternoon wishing I had something heartening to tell.  But this is the reality of child sacrifice--many of these children do not survive.  Nevertheless, even in death, they are telling us something about ourselves: It takes a village to raise a child and we (as a collective village) have failed miserably to protect them.  Here is the story of Kevin, an Unknown child whose names were omitted in the police reports, and Rita.  They will be on our hearts through mile 13, 14 and 15 of Rose's Journey in Dallas.

 

Mile 13: Name: KEVIN, A.; Age 2 years old (M); Date of attack 27^th August 2009; reported to Medi Opei Police Station, Kitgum district. Parents: Mother Atim, Rose, resident of Medi Opei Trading Center, in the same district. Kevin disappeared from his home on August 27^th, 2009 and his body was recovered with the private parts, eyebrows and eyelids missing.  He was suspected to have been murdered for ritual sacrifice. 7 suspects were arrested for interrogation and 2 of them, including a traditional birth attendant, were later taken to court for murder.  Evidence, including blood stained clothes and razor blades were recovered.  Arrangements for exhumation of body to obtain more evidence are underway. Case still open...

Mile 14: Name: UNKNOWN male; Age 1yr 6mo; Date of attack: September 9^th, 2009.  Reported to Ibanda Police Station; Parents: Father Alinitwe, Andrew from Kahoko cell, Ishingororo, Ibanda District.  On September 9^th, 2009 at around 1200hours, body of a male child was discovered buried in a banana plantation.  The body’s head was cut off and the child was suspected to have been murdered for ritual sacrifice. The deceased went missing on September 24^th, 2009 when his mother left him at home with his father while she fetched water.  3 suspects including the father, his friend Sengimana Valence and a business man Tumwesigye Lasito, were arrested and taken to court for murder.  Samples of some pieces of bones, bloody looking herbs found in the pot of the businessman, plus the hoe and panga were submitted to the government lab for analysis. Case File submitted to the Resident State Attorney but no court date has been set...

Mile 15: Name RITA, N.; Age: 6 ½ (F); Date of attack May 13^th, 2009.  Reported to Mpigi Police Station and Kyabaddaza Police Station; Parents undisclosed: Relatives: Mukwaya Fred from Gwatiiro, Budde Sub county, Mpigi District. Rita went missing on September 12^th, 2009 while staying with relatives.  Her body was recovered on September 15^th, 2009 with several parts missing.  Her lower body including legs, the skull, ribs and jaw bone were the only parts that were recovered.  Majority of her upper body was missing.  Rita is suspected to have been sacrificed to the spirits of a nearby stone quarry.  4 suspects were arrested.   2 of them, including the victim’s caretaker were taken to court for murder.  A 3rd suspect, Ahabwe, has been in hiding since.  The two suspects taken to court were later released on court bail.  Case is on hold pending exhumation of the body for further analysis...

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 October 6^th in Dallas, Texas see: http://narrowroadintl.org/Narrow_Road__Roses_Journey.html