Although in recent decades, the situation of "witches" has been transformed in Western Countries, they are still being killed in Africa and other parts of the world. Thus a Syrian died in 1998 in Saudi Arabia, condemned as a witch. Many black women still die every year in South Africa accused of being witches... The list below shows the killings have not stopped. It documents the killings of African witches for about 14 months of 1997 and 1998 using reports from news agency and newspapers. The list was put together by (name to come).

March 20, 1997 - Meningitis kills 542 in Ghana, witch hunts launched. A

mob killed three middle-aged women in the village of Yoggu, accusing

them of spreading the disease through witchcraft. Reuters

April 1997 - Swami pastor and wife hacked to death by members of rival

church. The victims were accused of killing the rival church's choir

master with witchcraft. Independent Newspapers

May 13, 1997 - A cat was beaten and kicked to death at FNB stadium

during a competition because the cat's presence was considered a bad

omen and a symbol of witchcraft. Independent Newspapers

September 1, 1997 - A family of four was killed while sleeping with

AK-47 assault rifles, south of Durban. The victims were killed because

the wife had been accused of using witchcraft. Independent Newspapers

October 27, 1997 - Ghana's human rights Organisation called for a halt

to the dehumanising treatment of women accused of witchcraft. Women in

the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions accused of witchcraft

are being lynched or banished to "witch camps". There are four such

camps located at Gambaga, Kukuo, Kpatinga and Nagani. There are 123

women at the Gambaga camp, 450 at Kukuo, 42 at Kpatinga and 193 at

Nagani plus 13 men accused of being wizards. The ages of the "inmates"

are between 35 - 90 years old. Africa News Service

January 8, 1998 - In Durban, Northern Zululand, five people were burned

to death accused of witchcraft. Two women and three men were the victims

and evidence suggests that a considerable amount of people carried-out

the attack. Independent Newspapers

January 13, 1998 - A 79-year old farmer in the Volta region of Ghana is

asking for compensation (equal to $23,000) from the chief and elders of

his village for banishing him on accusations of witchcraft. The human

rights commission is pursuing the matter, they have sent a letter of

inquiry to the chief, and have received no response as of yet. Africa

News Service

January 27, 1998 - In Northern Ghana, masked vigilantes clubbed and

stoned two women aged 55 & 60 to death for allegedly practising

witchcraft. Reuters

January 28, 1998 - Police shelter "witch" and her two children after her

village accused her of witchcraft in Hlogotlou in the Northern Province.

Independent Newspapers

February 16, 1998 - In Tanzania's Mwanza and Shinyanga regions, an

alarming number of elderly women are being killed for witchcraft. Major

General James Lubanga, the Mwanza regional commissioner said that the

problem of witchcraft is common and behind every misfortune they believe

somebody is involved. Africa News Service

March 6, 1998 - A human skull and a puffadder (snake) was found on a

principal's desk in the Dete district. A witch doctor claimed that these

were acts of witchcraft designed to kill the school headmaster.

Independent Newspapers

April 3, 1998 - A security guard was shot by a 50-year old man outside

an office block on Pritchard Street, central Johannesburg. The killer

believed that the guard used witchcraft on his daughter. Independent

Newspapers

May 7, 1998 - A man who murdered his aunt is jailed for 11 years in

Umtata. Hloniphile Mdludlu, 52, told Eastern Cape Judge Cecil Somyalo

that after his uncle died he consulted a sangoma (witch finder) in

Gauteng who told him that his aunt, Nodimile Mdludlu, 70 was bewitching

members of his family. Independent Newspapers

May 16, 1998 - Last year, police in the Northern Province investigated

over 150 murders of suspected witches. The problem has become so serious

that a village has been set aside by the police as a "witch sanctuary".

The village is named Helena and is about 60 kilometres from Pietersburg.

Independent Newspapers