Witchcraft in Africa

In Africa, witchcraft generally refers to certain individuals using hidden or invisible means, especially supernatural powers, to purposefully harm others or pursue self-interest at the expense of others, though beliefs and practices surrounding witchcraft vary both historically and between local groups. Throughout much of the continent, witchcraft constitutes an important dimension of social reality, and is often intertwined with politics and economics.

The term witchcraft has been criticised by some anthropologists for being overly generic and obfuscating local conceptualisations and practices. Monica Wilson wrote that witchcraft was the inversion of accepted behavioural norms, and the "wilful misdirection of the mystical powers" innate to each person. W.M.J. Binsbergen differentiated between "anti-personal witchcraft" (someone causing another's misfortunes, between whom there is existing tension) and "impersonal witchcraft" (reckless pursuit of self-interested gain through manipulation). Earlier generations of scholars emphasised African witchcraft as serving to maintain "social and cosmological order", while recent scholars have interpreted African witchcraft as critical social commentary on modernity and postcolonial capitalism. Accused witches are often ostracised or subject to physical harm such as assault or murder. In parts of Africa, beliefs about illness being caused by witchcraft continue to fuel suspicion of modern medicine, with serious healthcare consequences.

In the Central African Republic, hundreds of people are convicted of witchcraft yearly, with reports of violence against accused women. In west Kenya, there have been cases of accused witches being burned to death in their homes by mobs. Malawi faces a similar issue of child witchcraft accusations, with traditional healers and some Christian counterparts involved in exorcisms, causing abandonment and abuse of children.

In Nigeria, Pentecostal pastors have intertwined Christianity with witchcraft beliefs for profit, leading to the torture and killing of accused children. Sierra Leone's Mende people see witchcraft convictions as beneficial, as the accused receive support and care from the community. In precolonial Tio society (modern-day Republic of Congo), evil was believed to be caused by spirits called apfu, and illness and death caused by witchcraft, with the threat of feuds and witchcraft accusations fostering the unity of a household or village. In Zulu culture, healers known as sangomas protect people from witchcraft and evil spirits through divination, rituals and mediumship.