Ritual sacrifice performed in broad day light
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I As witchcraft takes center stage in the lives of many Ugandans, Pastor Joseph Sserwadda has called on the Uganda Police Force to investigate two people captured on video slaughtering a goat along Entebbe Road in an incident he suspects could have been a ritual sacrifice.
The incident, reportedly filmed around Katabi Junction, has attracted public attention after footage showing people dressed in white slaughtering a black goat by the roadside circulated widely.
In the video, the individuals appear to collect the goat’s blood in a container before carrying the carcass to a waiting Toyota Fielder. They then drive away as traffic continues to pass the scene. At one point, a police vehicle appears to drive past while the slaughter is taking place.
However, the footage does not establish the identities of the people involved or explain why the goat was killed. The vehicle’s number plates also appear to have been deliberately concealed, making it difficult to identify those involved from the footage alone.
Speaking on Sunday, Sserwadda, the senior pastor of Victory Christian Centre in Ndeeba, urged police to identify and question the people captured in the video.
He offered Shs1 million to support the investigation if police lacked the resources required to trace the individuals.
“I am going to provide the police with Shs1 million if they say they do not have fuel or resources to look for these people,” Sserwadda said.
He argued that failure to investigate could create the impression that authorities tolerate practices associated with witchcraft.
“We shall now believe that the government of Uganda has endorsed witchcraft,” he said, adding that the appearance of police vehicles in the footage while the slaughter was taking place raised further concerns.
Sserwadda suspects the act may have been intended to cast spells on motorists and linked it to the possibility of road accidents occurring at the location. Those claims, however, are not established by the video, which does not reveal the motive behind the slaughter.
Ugandan law makes an important distinction between witchcraft and legitimate religious or spiritual practices. The Witchcraft Act criminalises practising witchcraft or claiming to be a witch, with a conviction potentially attracting up to five years’ imprisonment. It also prohibits hiring another person to practise witchcraft for evil purposes.
The law provides heavier penalties in certain circumstances. Threatening another person with death through witchcraft or other supernatural means can attract life imprisonment, while threatening disease or physical harm through supernatural means can result in up to 10 years in prison.
At the same time, the Act expressly excludes bona fide spirit worship and the genuine manufacture, supply or sale of native medicines from its definition of witchcraft. Therefore, the performance of a traditional or spiritual ceremony does not automatically constitute the offence of witchcraft.
The Constitution also protects freedom of thought, conscience and belief, as well as the right to practise and manifest religion, subject to the Constitution.
Separate legal questions could arise from the roadside nature of the incident. The Animals (Prevention of Cruelty) Act prohibits unnecessarily cruel killing or causing unnecessary suffering to animals and recognises public places as including highways and streets. Traffic laws also require people controlling domestic animals on roads or public places to prevent them from becoming a danger or annoyance to the public.
By the time of publication, police had not publicly announced an investigation into the incident.
