Content warning: The article contains descriptions of violence against children
The day a witch doctor kidnapped four-year-old Jessy for ritualistic sacrifice still haunts his father, Godfrey Ochwo.
"When he survived, we took him to the hospital," Ochwo said. "It torments me a lot every day, but he survived."
The boy was found by the team from Kyampisi Childcare Ministries (KCM), a Ugandan non-profit that supports victims of child sacrifice.
"I received a call from the police in (Uganda's capital) Kampala, to provide a car for us to go searching for a boy that went missing," KCM founder Peter Sewakiryanga told SBS News.
"It was a neighbour who had kidnapped him and through the searches we found him stuffed in a drum. They had stabbed the machete through his neck, possibly to drain blood, and they cut off his hand."
In June, Jessy and another survivor, George, arrived in Brisbane for life-changing medical treatment. It’s an opportunity made possible through funding from an Australian charity.
Child sacrifice on the rise
The mutilation and murder of children at the hands of so-called 'witch doctors' is on the rise in Uganda. Those on the ground say cases are higher than authorities have on record, estimating at least two children go missing each week, often kidnapped for child sacrifice.
Poverty, widespread belief in superstition and the poor policing of witch doctors are factors that have contributed to the spike.
According to KCM, the tongue, genitalia, blood, legs and the entire head are the body parts most sought-after by witch doctors.
The charity’s research also shows 90 per cent of children taken are killed, with the few who survive living with injuries and trauma.
Godfrey Ochwo and his son Jessy, who was kidnapped and mutilated for ritualistic sacrifice in 2020. Credit: Lauren Setterberg
"Witch doctors claim to treat all sorts of different diseases ... bring wealth or solve people’s poverty issues, witch doctors claim to give you blessings," Sewakiryanga said.
"It doesn't matter what you believe, killing a child is unacceptable."
He says child sacrifice is a modern crime, and so-called witch doctors legitimise it under the guise of traditional medicine.
"If you look at biblical times there is mention of child sacrifice, but in our culture, it's relatively new," Sewakiryanga said.
"When I was growing up, we heard of stories of children that have been sacrificed but we would never come in contact with anyone.
"But over the last years as people have become desperate, the sacrifice of children has gone higher and now it is widespread everywhere."
Peter Sewakiryanga founded Kyampisi Childcare Ministries over a decade ago and has been known as the “witch doctor hunter" for his fight against child sacrifice. Source: SBS
In Tanzania, children with albinism are hunted, with the Red Cross reporting witch doctors are prepared to pay $97,000 for a full set of body parts.
The Australian connection
For survivors of child sacrifice, ongoing and complex medical support is often required, which is often difficult to come by in Uganda.
Australian charity Droplets in a Stream was co-founded by Brisbane-based civil engineer, Rodney Callanan. It partners with Kyampisi Childcare Ministries, providing funding that is used to provide rehabilitation and medical attention to survivors of child sacrifice.
"Unfortunately, in Uganda, some of the medical interventions and surgeries that some of the survivors require aren't available to them in Ugandan hospitals and not even in local Central Africa," Callanan told SBS News.
"Our organisation [has been able to] connect with a few surgeons in Australia, ranging from Sydney to Newcastle, and Brisbane.
"These amazing doctors and surgeons have offered to provide these treatments and life-changing operations to these kids free of charge."
Australian charity Droplets in a Stream was co-founded by Brisbane-based civil engineer, Rodney Callanan (right). It partners with Kyampisi Childcare Ministries providing funding for rehabilitation and medical attention to survivors of child sacrifice. It also funds KCM's work to bring perpetrators to justice. Source: SBS / Jennifer Scherer
"It’s going to help me being here, it’s going to help me get what I never had through the surgery," George told SBS News.
"What I feel when I think of what has happened to me, I feel traumatised sometimes, but I think of one thing, what happened, happened but I have to move on."
George wants to become a doctor, inspired by the doctors who saved his life, including David Winkle, a urologist at the Mater Adult and Children's hospital in Brisbane.
"I first met George over ten years ago … he was initially treated in Uganda by an international team, and he underwent some reconstructive surgery there," Dr Winkle told SBS News.
"There were ongoing issues for which he was brought to Australia … but now that he’s progressed through puberty, further reconstructive surgery will be required."
George, 17, is still undergoing reconstructive surgery for the injuries he sustained in a child sacrifice attack. He wants to become a doctor. Source: SBS
The fight for justice
Sewakiryanga’s determined pursuit for justice for all the children in his care has made him known as the "witch doctor hunter."
His non-profit works closely with the police and prosecutor’s office and often plays a crucial role in investigating cases of child sacrifice attacks and tracking down witch doctors and traffickers.
"One child is too many to be killed in that way and we cannot stop talking about it … even if it looks like a stain, it's an effort to stop an emerging issue from escalating to make things worse for children who are the future of Uganda," he said.
In 2019, Dateline met 16-year-old Allan Ssembatya, another survivor of child sacrifice.
Kidnapped and attacked by a witch doctor in 2009, he only saw his perpetrators brought to justice in 2022. Both were reportedly sentenced to 40 years in prison.
While the case against George’s perpetrator has been closed, Jessy’s is still ongoing.
"Child sacrifice should be stopped," George said.
"I can't wake up one morning and find one child not having an ear, but he was born with it.
"One, not having an arm, not having a leg just because someone got it for his own benefit."
