Mozambique: 113 elderly people murdered in five months

At least 113 elderly people were murdered in the first five months of the year in Inhambane province, southern Mozambique, said police authorities who are designing strategies to stop violence against the elderly.

“The criminal investigation police in the province of Inhambane, during the first five months, registered a total of 113 cases that report the legal type of aggravated homicide crime”, said the head of public relations of the National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) in Inhambane, Alceres Cuamba, quoted this Saturday by the media, and who referred to the 85 cases in the same period of 2024.

According to police authorities, the cases were registered in the districts of Zavala, Maxixe, Massinga and Inharrime where, said Alceres Cuamba, violence against the elderly, often carried out by relatives of the victims, occurs due to accusations of witchcraft .

“These cases are a concern for Sernic, which has been working with community leaders, religious leaders and other influential figures to raise awareness in communities about the need for dialogue to reverse this situation,” added Sernic’s head of public relations in Inhambane, Alceres Cuamba.

On Friday, Lusa reported that a group of locals set fire to a bus in the municipality of Xai-Xai, in southern Mozambique, vandalized the office of the local administrative post and the home of a woman accused of witchcraft.

“There was almost total destruction of the vehicle belonging to the municipal council of our city, as well as the office of the municipal administrative post. The windows of that building were broken and there was also some burning of one of the parts of the residence of the alleged accused,” said the administrator of the Xai-Xai district, Argelência Unguana.

At issue is the death of a community leader, whose death is attributed to a 56-year-old woman, accused of witchcraft by the people.

The murder of people accused of being witches is common in rural areas of Mozambique , with elderly people being the main victims.

It is a frequent crime and is generally perpetrated by relatives, who accuse the victims of carrying out supernatural acts, holding them responsible for family disputes and misfortunes.

In the province of Inhambane alone, in southern Mozambique, in 2020, at least 17 elderly people were murdered due to accusations of witchcraft, mostly made by family members, according to the latest data from the authorities provided to Lusa that year.