Stop Chikondo Witch hunting Practice in Zambia -By Leo Igwe

The Advocacy for Alleged Witches condemns the practice of ‘magical moving coffin’ also known as Chikondo in Zambia. The chikondo ritual is conducted to ascertain who is responsible for the death of a person in the community. Chikondo is an outdated practice that should not be conducted in 21st-century Zambia. Unfortunately, this traditional practice persists and provides a pretext to impute witchcraft, attack, and murder innocent people. A report from Mushindamo District of North-Western Province states that, on January 10, 2023, two persons were killed and three others sustained injuries during a Chikondo practice in the region. The deceased victims “were identified as Muma Chewe aged 91 from Muma village and Bestrong Mangala aged 78 from Masheke village while the injured victims were identified as Robson Chiputu aged 64 from Chiputu village, Kenneth Kipamina aged 62 from Kipamina village and Luckson Chensha aged 67 from Chikwaba village”. 

The report says that a man, Mwelwa Malembe, died after a short illness. And on January 10, some community members conducted ‘chikondo’ (magical moving coffin) to confirm the people believed to be behind the death of the deceased. In the course of the procession, the ‘magical moving coffin’ hit some people including the deceased, and the mob attacked them and three other persons. Some people alerted the police. By the time the police arrived at the scene, two persons were lying unconscious and three others had serious injuries. Those who were unconscious were later confirmed dead at a local hospital. The police have launched a manhunt for those suspected to have carried out the attack. A local media source says that the practice of magical moving coffin has left nine people dead in the province since last year. Chikondo is a traditional harmful practice based on superstition and unreason. The notion that a coffin can magically move is absurd. The idea that a coffin can identify the person responsible for the death of an individual is baseless nonsense. No coffin can magically move unless moved or manipulated by human beings. The Chikondo practice is a form of human manipulation of a coffin. Nothing is magical about the moving coffin. If a dead person needs to identify the killer it does not need a magical moving coffin. The people of Zambia should stop the harmful superstitious practice of Chikondo.

Leo Igwe directs the Advocacy for Alleged Witches…..