| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"Homeland Security" |
| Date: |
22 Jun 2005 02:19:43 PM |
| Object: |
Exorcist trio face jail for torturing 'witch', 8 |
Exorcist trio face jail for torturing 'witch', 8
By Nicola Woolcock
Cruelty case highlights plight of children caught by unholy mix
of wild evangelicals and possession
THREE people who tortured an eight-year-old girl in brutal
exorcism rites because they believed that she was a witch are facing long
jail sentences after being convicted yesterday of child cruelty.
Sita Kisanga, 36, Sebastian Pinto, 33, and the child's aunt, who
cannot be identified, were found guilty of subjecting the child to 15 months
of beatings and starvation. The girl, who testified at the Old Bailey trial
via a videolink, is believed to be among hundreds of African children in the
UK subjected to ritual abuse because of a belief in witchcraft fostered by
the growth of unregulated evangelical churches.
In the wake of this case - and the murders of Victoria Climbie
and Adam, the boy whose torso was found in the Thames - Scotland Yard has
established Project Violet to tackle such crimes. The team was set up partly
because the abuse of the girl was uncovered through "luck and chance".
Five other investigations - four in London and one in the South
West - are currently ongoing. In each case families allegedly believed that
their children were possessed and wanted them to undergo exorcism.
Directors of Social Services across the UK have been alerted to
the dangers posed by the belief in witchcraft and told to take a proactive
approach with fringe churches.
The 38-year-old aunt began crying shortly before the verdicts
were delivered. Kisanga smirked and Pinto remained impassive. Judge
Christopher Moss said that prison terms were "inevitable" when the three,
who are related, return for sentencing next month.
The aunt was found guilty of four counts of cruelty for slapping
the girl, hitting her with a shoe and a belt, starving her, rubbing chilli
peppers in her eyes, cutting her with a knife, and zipping her inside a
laundry bag to make her think she would be thrown away.
Kisanga, of Hackney, East London, and Pinto, of Stoke Newington,
North London, were convicted of aiding and abetting child cruelty. The two
women were cleared of conspiracy to murder.
The girl's plight was uncovered when she was found barefoot on
the steps of a council flat in November 2003, 15 months after she was
brought to Britain from Angola by her aunt. The girl was taken into care by
Hackney Council but returned to her aunt a month later. The first doctor to
examine her missed 43 wounds and scars on her body. She later said that she
did not notice them because it was late afternoon and the light was dim.
Only after the aunt and child moved house and Haringey Council
reopened the case was the full extent of her injuries discovered. The girl
was re-interviewed and told police that her aunt was committing the abuse.
Hackney Council has now opened an inquiry.
Child welfare groups say that thousands of African children go
missing from British schools every year. Because of transient inner-city
populations and the sensitivity surrounding race relations, many of the
children are impossible to trace. Concerns are rising that many, especially
those attending fundamentalist churches, may be subjected to abuse.
Detectives say that they have no way of gauging the true scale
of the problem. They remain wary of inflaming relations with ethnic
communities and lack the resources to police every suspicious home or place
of worship. Many of the new churches, which spring up under the control of
self-styled pastors, mix a belief in ndoki [witchcraft] and sorcery with
fundamentalist Christianity.
Pardeep Gill, a child abuse expert, said: "More people believed
in witchcraft than didn't and there are tons of these churches. Anyone can
say he is a pastor. There are some who use witchcraft as a means of
controlling congregations."
Dr Richard Hoskins, who is a specialist in African studies and
advises police, said: "It's thought children can catch witchcraft by taking
infected bread from a witch. The deliverance process requires fasting for
three days then the confrontation begins."
Kisanga had attended the Spiritual Warfare church, in Hackney,
which observers say believes fervently in the need for permanent vigilance
against the forces of witchcraft. Police say the pastor of the church was
co-operative and disapproved strongly of the treatment of the girl.
Detective Inspector Brian Mather, who led the investigation,
said: "This was a distressing case involving a child who suffered at the
hands of adults who should have cared for and protected her. The girl is now
healthy, happy and living with a foster family in London."
AFRICAN WITCHCRAFT
a.. Theologians believe that there are hundreds of small,
unregistered churches practising exorcisms across Britain
a.. In many African churches exorcism takes place after a
"possessed" person has fasted for three days
a.. "Ndoki" is a term used throughout West Africa to describe
witchcraft, or a possessed person
a.. In many African societies a medical condition that cannot be
treated is often ascribed to the work of an evil-doer, or "ndoki"
a.. Children are specially susceptible to "ndoki", which they
can become by eating bread infected with an evil spirit
a.. Exorcism usually involves beating the victim, which has
sometimes resulted in death
Source: The Timnes Online
--
Do not fall in womens traps Have Faith Love & Spirituallity
Articulate the way we live and cellebrate
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come
that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:9-11
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