African shamans wielding clubs and stones stormed a church on a Ugandan island in Lake Victoria on 22 December, sending 30 Christians to hospitals for treatment.
The unruly sorcerers destroyed dozens of Bibles, broke chairs, doors, the front part of the building and other property as church members who were not injured fled for their lives. The pastor said: ‘Church members were beaten with sticks and clubs, and police arrived to rescue the people, who were rushed to nearby clinics.’ The shamans, leaders of traditional animist and spiritist practice, also damaged keyboards, microphones and loudspeakers.
Blocking the site
After the attack, hundreds of shamans blocked anyone trying to enter the site, which they said was in the pathway of a spirit-god, Jjaja Mukasa, that controls Lake Victoria. Surrounding the site, they made it difficult for police to get to the church, sources said. Rushing to the site in Kalangala District the day of the attack, a team of police officials from Masaka and Kalangala eventually broke through and ended the assault.
Pastor Kalaja said sorcerers from other parts of the country had joined the area shamans to attack the Christians. The head of the area shamans, Doreen Nakitto, said two leaders of the group, identified only as Nabbojja and Bukasa, had approached her to get permission to inspect the landing site, which she granted. She said she was shocked to learn that the group had gone on to violence and destruction.
In April, the shamans had attacked Christians of the Divine Harvesters Church for burning fetish items of former spiritist Gorretti Nantonjo, who had become a Christian. ‘We are worried that Christians who have left the witchdoctors’ camp at Bukasa have been severely beaten in the recent past, and this 22 December incident was on a larger scale’, Pastor Kalaja said.
