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England: Three pople have been convicted of abusing a girl they believed was a witch. One woman, the victim's aunt, was found guilty on four counts of child cruelty at the Old Bailey today. Two other relatives were convicted on various charges of aiding and abetting child cruelty.
The cruelty started at the beginning of 2003 when a boy told his mother that the girl had been using witchcraft.
The child was cut with a knife, beaten with a belt and shoe and had chilli peppers rubbed in her eyes to beat the devil out of her during her ordeal at a flat in Hackney, east London.
The orphan was was brought to Britain in 2002 by her 38-year-old aunt from Angola, was beaten until she was made to admit she had been doing witchcraft.
'Witch' child cruelty trio guilty - BBC News, 3rd June 2005. See also One person cleared of abusing 'witch' girl - Pagan Prattle, 22nd May 2005; Little girl accused of witchcraft - Pagan Prattle, 10th May 2005.
Update: The BBC has added a number of articles providing background to the case. Of particular interest is this description of traditional Angolan witchcraft beliefs, which is compared with the religious beliefs of the abusers, all committed Christians.
[Dr Richard Hoskins, an expert in African studies] said:Spirit possession is also a common feature of African traditional religion and there is a belief that they can fly or mutate into other creatures...
...But Dr Hoskins stressed witchcraft believers would never condone physically harming a child, even one they thought was possessed by an evil spirit.
This contrasts with the beliefs of the abusers:
Ms X, Kisanga and Pinto worshipped at Protestant churches in Dalston and Neasden which catered for people from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Kisanga clearly believed in evil and there were entries, in her handwriting, aboutsatanictendencies in a diary found in her flat.
In another entry she describes a dream in which she met the 'Holy Spirit' and also refers to a female child in London with a snake in her abdomen.
It appears Kisanga persuaded herself, and Ms X, the child was possessed by an evil spirit and they meted out horrific treatment to her as a result.
Real or not, the belief resulted in simple, unforgivable child abuse.
Abuses masquerading as religion - BBC News, 3rd June 2005; 'Exorcisms are part of our culture' - BBC News, 3rd June 2005; Abuse case sparks new fears - BBC News, 3rd June 2005.
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