Dear Fida-Kenya,
I am a Christian who hails from a region where witchcraft is so common. People here are either praising a person or scheming to lynch another. They are up to no good and should be locked up in prison. What is your take on witchcraft? Is it legal?
June, KIsii
Dear June,
Witchcraft is widespread in Kenya and has shot to high levels as many communities practice it.
READ MORE
Man kills stepmother, accuses her of witchcraft
Committee established to stop killing of elderly in Kilifi
Kilifi villages where old age is worn as a badge of fear over witch claims
Family caught in twisted claims of Kamba curses and cleansing rites
However, witchcraft is illegal. The Witchcraft Act, Chapter 67 Laws of Kenya, Article 3 states that: Any person professing a knowledge of so-called witchcraft or the use of charms, who advises any person applying to him how to bewitch or injure persons, animals or other property, or who supplies any person with any article purporting to be a means of witchcraft, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years.
Police officer
The Witchcraft Act has given stipulations on how suspects of witchcraft should be handled and this is as provided for by the Act.
Chapter 67 of the Laws of Kenya, Article 6 says: Any person who accuses or threatens to accuse any person with being a witch or with practising witchcraft shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding Sh500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years: Provided that this section shall not apply to any person who makes an accusation to a DC, police officer, a chief or any other person in authority.
Any chief who directly or indirectly permits, encourages or facilitates the practice of witchcraft or the doing of any act contrary to the provisions of this Act, or who knowing of the practice does not report it to a DC, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding Sh500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years.
When it is reported to a DC that a person is suspected of practising witchcraft, the DC, after due inquiry, may for reasons to be recorded, order the suspect to reside in any locality within his district to be named by the DC, and alternatively or in addition to report at the DC’s office every seven days or at longer intervals until further orders.
Any order issued under this section shall, therefore, be forthwith reported by the DC issuing it to the PC and shall be accompanied by a record of the inquiry.
Any person who without lawful excuse refuses to obey an order issued under this section shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction before a magistrate, not being the DC who made the order, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding Sh150,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months.
However, the gap in the law is the burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt in proving that a suspect is indeed practising witchcraft.
