Our communities need to be educated about the health conditions some senior citizens suffer from, leading them to act strange and residents accusing them of witchcraft. Undertsanding the nature of these illness can save their lives.
Another elderly woman is nursing injuries after she was stripped naked, tied with a rope and beaten after being accused of witchcraft in the Eastern Cape. The 81-year-old woman was rescued from the mob by police and government officials in Mount Fletcher last week and taken to a place of safety.
Police spokesperson Brig Thembinkosi Kinana told our sister publication Times Live yesterday that six people had been apprehended in connection with the incident and charged with assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, kidnapping and imputing witchcraft. The six are expected to apply for bail tomorrow in the local magistrate court.
This is one of many cases of the elderly being assaulted and accused of witchcraft, some have been killed. A 59-year-old woman died after she was attacked and set alight by Soweto residents after being accused of witchcraft in March. She was found by two men in their yard, dressed in sangoma's attire and pleading for forgiveness. Her family said she had been diagnosed with dementia and the two men were arrested and have since been charged with murder.
Another 80-year-old was hacked with a hoe and then locked inside her house in Mbuzini, Mpumalanga, in January after the community accused her of being a witch. She died after her house was set alight. Four people were arrested and charged with murder.
It is heartbreaking that we treat theelderly in this inhumane and barbaric manner. When these cases are followed up it usually comes to light that suspicions arose due to a misunderstanding of the illnesses the elderly suffer from. We need more community-based awareness campaigns to educate residents about these and how they can assist the elderly to be comfortable in their last days.
The old women are not witches but are usually ill and that made them act strange. They are at the most vulnerable stage of their life, all they need is love and care, not humiliation and assault. This has to stop now.
We also call on the courts to give harsh sentences to people found guilty of these heinous crimes. This will send a strong message to residents that mob justice is not the answer when wrongdoing is suspected.
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