'Witches' burnt to death in Kenya

Imagine this happening in the UK

Eleven elderly people accused of being witches have been burned to death by a mob in the west of Kenya, police say.

A security operation has been launched to hunt down villagers suspected of killing them in Kisii District.

The BBC's Muliro Telewa in the region says the gang had a list of the victims and picked them out individually.

The area has witnessed similar attacks in the past when people suspected of engaging in witchcraft have been killed or ostracised.

But our reporter says that this is a surprisingly large number of people to be attacked at the same time.

Link

[cimt]

I read that yesterday, full of insanists!

[Osem]

Yes awful and of course that's not the only example of this sort of thing in Africa. Very sadly in South Africa there have been a number of cases of Zimbabwian refugees being subjected to necklace burning in which a rubber tyre is placed around the victim's neck and set on fire! Apparently tensions are running high there because the refugees are being accused of taking jobs and/or stealing from the local population.

[Russ]

Hmm, where have I heard that before.....

Originally Posted by Osem

Yes awful and of course that's not the only example of this sort of thing in Africa. Very sadly in South Africa there have been a number of cases of Zimbabwian refugees being subjected to necklace burning in which a rubber tyre is placed around the victim's neck and set on fire! Apparently tensions are running high there because the refugees are being accused of taking jobs and/or stealing from the local population.

sounds like a good way of discouraging them from coming into their country. Maybe we should try it out for a while see if some of our immigrants stay in France instead

[Osem]

Hmmmm, tongue in cheek I'm sure but in any event that wouldn't be the fairest way to control illegal immigration. There's no doubt though that tensions can and do run high when immigrants are perceived to be the cause of problems in a community and this can lead to serious violence.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...145854,00.html

Dunno about tongue in cheek lack of patience with it and the rest of Europe maybe but im not sure I was joking

[Mr_love_monkey]

Originally Posted by Osem

in which a rubber tyre is placed around the victim's neck and set on fire!

Don't forget that they break their arms as well, so they can't take the tyre off.

Winnie Mandella's 'football squad' made this practice quite well known...

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Mr_love_monkey

Don't forget that they break their arms as well, so they can't take the tyre off.

Winnie Mandella's 'football squad' made this practice quite well known...

True - the gory detail is covered in the Time article I linked to but isn't restricted to SA. I have a great many friends in Nigeria from my college days who told me stories of similarfly horrific summary justice administered there from time to time.

I really don't understand how anyone could do that sort of thing but it all goes to prove that the sort of grotesque uncontrolled hatred exemplified by the Nazis is sadly alive and well albeit on a smaller scale.

[Mr_love_monkey]

Originally Posted by Osem

I really don't understand how anyone could do that sort of thing but it all goes to prove that the sort of grotesque uncontrolled hatred exemplified by the Nazis is sadly alive and well albeit on a smaller scale.

I don't even think it's hate, I just think it's human nature, sadly.

[Osem]

Originally Posted by Mr_love_monkey

I don't even think it's hate, I just think it's human nature, sadly.

It's both I think - I heard a South African being interviewed on the news explaining how he'd be happy to kill the refugees. Of course these people are desperate and their plight is seized upon and manipulated by despots like Robert Mugabe, Charles Taylor and Idi Amin in order to achieve their evil aims.

Originally Posted by Mr_love_monkey

I don't even think it's hate, I just think it's human nature, sadly.

I agree, it's human nature and there's no taming it.

[Derek]

Originally Posted by Enuff

Imagine this happening in the UK

With the prices as high as they are you probably couldn't afford enough petrol.

[frogstamper]

The truly sad part of the current ethnic tensions in South Africa is that when apartheid was going strong all the surrounding counties took in thousands and thousands of South African refugees. The leadership of the ANC are well aware of this fact, as a lot of them spent time in Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, they are trying to get this fact across to the youth, who at present are blaming immigrants for taking their jobs and a perceived rise in crime.

Things like this have always happened way of the world and always will be they probably think they got as much right as we have when we bang people up.