When Fear Became Power in Liberia

Introduction

Some fears concerned genuine crimes, including mutilated bodies, wartime atrocities and attacks on accused “witches”. Others grew through rumour, uncertain evidence or political manipulation. The crucial distinction is therefore not between “rational” and “superstitious” people. It is between verifiable harm, culturally meaningful explanations, unproven allegations and collective reactions that created further victims.

Liberia’s experience shows how frightening beliefs become socially powerful when official institutions cannot provide trusted explanations or justice. It also shows why dismissing such beliefs as ignorance can make a crisis worse.

Witchcraft accusations and trials by ordeal

Witchcraft accusations remain one of Liberia’s clearest examples of contagious suspicion becoming organised persecution. An illness, death, crop failure, family dispute or run of bad fortune may be attributed to a person believed to possess harmful supernatural power. Once an accusation gains support, it can reshape how every action by the accused is interpreted. Denial may be treated as deception, unusual behaviour as proof and a forced confession as confirmation.

The people most exposed are often those with the least power to defend themselves. A joint investigation by the United Nations Mission in Liberia and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights documented 31 incidents between January 2012 and September 2015 involving 214 accused people. Eighty-six were children, some as young as four. Recorded consequences included beatings, forced confessions, expulsion, painful “cleansing” ceremonies and trials by ordeal.[United Nations Mission in Liberia]unmil.unmissions.orgCases documented by HRPS indicate that children accused of witchcraft “confessed”.Read more…

Children may come to accept or repeat accusations made against them, particularly when adults insist that a person can practise witchcraft without knowing it. UNICEF has described cases in which children were isolated from friends, removed from their communities or subjected to intervention by religious and traditional practitioners. Women, elderly people, people with disabilities and those living in poverty are also especially vulnerable.[UNICEF]unicef.organd partners bring hope children accused witchcraft liberiaUNICEF Liberia. Child with hidden face.Read more…

How an ordeal turns suspicion into “proof”

A trial by ordeal is intended to reveal guilt through a dangerous physical test rather than ordinary evidence. In Liberia, reported methods have included forced consumption of poisonous substances, burning or other painful treatment. Survival, injury, vomiting or the interpretation of a ritual specialist may be treated as the verdict.

Liberia’s Supreme Court has repeatedly held such procedures to be unconstitutional and illegal. A judgment quoted by the US Library of Congress condemned ordeal as an attempt to establish guilt without lawful evidence and linked it to a death following an accusation of goat theft. Yet later human-rights reporting found that ordeals continued and were sometimes initiated or tolerated by chiefs and public officials.[The Library of Congress]blogs.loc.govtrial by ordeal in liberiaillegal and abominable method of trial by ordeal which this court has repeatedly held to be unconstitutional and therefore illegal. Yet TBO…

The process is self-validating. If the accused is injured, that may be read as supernatural exposure; if the accused survives, the ritual administrator can reinterpret the outcome. Fear of social exclusion also encourages confession. The result is not simply a private belief but an alternative justice system operating without reliable evidence, legal representation or protection from torture.

The most useful human-rights response is not to criminalise belief itself. UN guidance distinguishes freedom of religion and cultural expression from harmful conduct arising from an accusation. The priority is to prosecute assault, torture, unlawful detention and killing, while protecting and rehabilitating those who have been targeted.[OHCHR]ohchr.orgaccusations of witchcraft and ritual attacksHarmful practices related to accusations of witchcraft and ritual attacks have contribut…

Ritual killings: crimes, rumours and political power

Fear of “ritual killing” occupies an unusually prominent place in Liberian public life. The term generally refers to murder in which body parts are removed because someone allegedly believes they can be used to acquire wealth, authority, protection or electoral success. It is important to separate three things that are often merged: documented homicide and mutilation, an alleged supernatural motive, and rumours about who ordered the crime.

Bodies with missing parts provide evidence of serious violence, but not by themselves proof of a particular ritual, sponsor or political conspiracy. Police investigations have often been weak, while stories about “heart men”, officials or wealthy clients can circulate faster than evidence. Investigative reporting from Liberia has found both intense public certainty that ritual murder occurs and striking difficulty establishing what happened in individual cases.[Guernica]guernicamag.comGuernica Blood and Power: Investigating a Ritual Murder in LiberiaGuernicaBlood and Power: Investigating a Ritual Murder in LiberiaNovember 28, 2017 — 28 Nov 2017 — Murders that fit such a disturbing pat…Published: November 28, 2017

The Harper killings and the spectacle of punishment

The most famous historical case occurred in and around Harper, Maryland County, during the 1970s. A succession of disappearances and mutilated bodies produced fear that powerful people were obtaining human body parts. The 1977 killing of Moses Tweh, a fisherman and popular singer, became the focal point of the investigation. Government officials and other suspects were prosecuted, and seven convicted people were publicly hanged in Harper in February 1979.[kpsrl.org]kpsrl.orgRitual violence in LiberiaMarch 4, 2024 — Illustration 1: Execution of the 'Harper Seven', February 1979…….. “ritual killings a…Published: March 4, 2024

The case is remembered as evidence that senior figures could be implicated in ritual violence, but it also raises questions about political pressure, coerced testimony, mistreatment of suspects and the use of public execution to reassure an alarmed population. Later accounts contain differing totals for earlier deaths and disappearances, so broad claims about the scale of the killings should be treated cautiously.

The hangings served more than a judicial purpose. They dramatised the state’s claim that it could expose hidden evil and restore order. Yet spectacular punishment did not remove the underlying conditions that nourished suspicion: unequal access to justice, secrecy around political authority and the belief that elite success might depend on concealed violence.

Election seasons and renewed scares

Suspected ritual killings frequently become politically charged near elections. In 2005, transitional chairman Gyude Bryant publicly warned candidates against human sacrifice. A decade later, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said apparent ritual killings were increasing, amid press reports of multiple suspicious deaths.[The New Humanitarian]thenewhumanitarian.orgOpen source on thenewhumanitarian.org.

In September 2015, discoveries of bodies around Ganta in Nimba County triggered protests, property destruction and a government curfew. At least one person was reported killed during the unrest. The episode demonstrates how fear can move from an unresolved crime to a wider conviction that authorities are protecting killers. Once that belief takes hold, police stations, businesses or suspected associates may become targets.[Reuters]reuters.comCurfew imposed in northern Liberia after ritual killingsCurfew imposed in northern Liberia after ritual killings

The fears cannot simply be dismissed as fantasy. In December 2021, a UN human-rights expert called for prompt investigations into several suspicious deaths reportedly associated with ritual practices. The careful word is “reportedly”: authorities must investigate credible evidence without endorsing every circulating allegation or allowing crowds to decide guilt.[OHCHR]ohchr.orgliberia un expert calls probe suspected ritualistic killingsliberia un expert calls probe suspected ritualistic killings

War, supernatural protection and the language of terror

Liberia’s civil wars between 1989 and 2003 transformed supernatural belief into part of the machinery of conflict. Fighters sometimes wore amulets or unusual costumes and claimed protection against bullets. Some atrocities were described as acts that transferred power from victims to perpetrators. Reports of cannibalism, mutilation and ritualised violence were not merely folklore: witnesses and journalists documented actual wartime crimes, although individual stories were also repeated, enlarged or used as propaganda.[The New Yorker]newyorker.comThe New Yorker The Devil They KnowThe New Yorker The Devil They Know

Belief in invulnerability could affect behaviour on the battlefield. A fighter who believed protective objects made him immune might take extreme risks; opponents who shared the belief might be intimidated before combat began. Ritual display therefore had a psychological and military function even when the claimed supernatural effect was impossible.

The language of spirits, sacrifice and concealed power also helped civilians explain violence that appeared otherwise senseless. Liberia’s wars involved shifting factions, child soldiers, arbitrary checkpoints and perpetrators who often acted with near-total impunity. In such conditions, supernatural explanations could express a recognisable political truth: armed men possessed terrifying powers that ordinary institutions could not restrain.

This does not mean that Liberia’s Poro and Sande associations should be described as “cults”. They are longstanding institutions with educational, political, social and spiritual roles, and their members commonly also identify as Christian or Muslim. Treating them as secret criminal conspiracies reproduces an outsider stereotype and obscures differences between initiation, community authority, coercive practices and wartime abuse.[JSTOR]jstor.orgOpen source on jstor.org.

Nor should every wartime atrocity be explained by traditional religion. Drugs, forced recruitment, deliberate terror, group discipline and competition between commanders were crucial. Supernatural claims often intensified violence, but they operated within a very earthly struggle for territory, resources and survival.

Ebola: when justified fear became a crisis of trust

The 2014 Ebola emergency was a genuine epidemic rather than an imagined scare. Liberia suffered extensive illness and death, and its already fragile health system was overwhelmed. Fear was therefore reasonable. The damaging element was the interaction between the real disease and rumours generated by uncertainty, institutional failure and mistrust.

Some people believed Ebola was invented to attract foreign money, that treatment centres were places from which nobody returned, or that health workers were spreading the disease. Such claims were dangerous, but they did not emerge in a vacuum. Treatment beds were initially scarce, ambulances and burial teams were delayed, and patients sometimes disappeared into an unfamiliar system with little information reaching their families. WHO later acknowledged that community resistance, inadequate treatment facilities and staff shortages all impeded control.[World Health Organization]who.intOpen source on who.int.

The rumour that treatment centres were effectively death chambers was reinforced by the high number of deaths and the secrecy required by infection control. Research on post-Ebola trust found that stories about nobody returning alive contributed to families hiding illness and arranging burials privately. Fear could therefore produce behaviour that increased transmission, making the original rumour seem more plausible as further people died.[PubMed Central]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govPub Med Central Overcoming distrust to deliver universal health coveragePub Med Central Overcoming distrust to deliver universal health coverage

West Point and the cost of coercion

In August 2014 the government placed West Point, a densely populated Monrovia neighbourhood, under quarantine. Security forces sealed the area after an attack on an Ebola holding centre and the removal of patients and contaminated materials. The operation produced confrontation, shortages and anger; a teenage boy was shot and later died.

Research into the quarantine concluded that imposing collective restriction without adequate consultation, food provision or trusted communication deepened fear and social harm. Residents were treated as a dangerous population rather than partners in disease control.[PubMed Central]pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govOpen source on nih.gov.

The turning point came when response organisations relied more heavily on community leaders, local radio, survivors and neighbourhood teams. Traditional chiefs recorded prevention messages, while communities organised case-finding and reporting systems. These measures worked because they did not merely repeat medical facts: they used trusted relationships to make those facts believable.[WHO | Regional Office for Africa]afro.who.intebola traditional chiefs sent messages their communities liberiaebola traditional chiefs sent messages their communities liberia

Ebola therefore offers a warning against the easy phrase “mass panic”. Liberians were facing a lethal disease, inconsistent services and memories of state failure. Rumours sometimes caused harm, but official mistakes supplied them with credible raw material.

What connects Liberia’s major scares?

Liberia’s witchcraft accusations, ritual-murder panics, wartime supernatural claims and Ebola rumours differ greatly. They should not be collapsed into a single category. Yet several recurring pressures help explain why they became socially contagious.

Uncertain causes invite moral explanations. When a death, illness or disappearance is not credibly explained, communities search for an intentional agent. Witchcraft, ritual murder or conspiracy gives suffering a cause and identifies someone who can be blamed.

Weak investigations create a vacuum. Delayed policing, missing forensic evidence and low confidence in courts allow rumour to compete with official accounts. Each unresolved case strengthens the belief that powerful offenders are protected.

Secrecy magnifies suspicion. Closed initiation practices, confidential medical procedures and opaque political networks may be very different institutions, but all can appear threatening to outsiders who lack reliable information.

Past violence changes what seems possible. After public mutilations, wartime cannibalism and political assassination, even an unverified atrocity story may feel credible. Collective memory lowers the threshold at which a frightening rumour is accepted.

Authorities can intensify the scare. Public warnings about ritual murder may show seriousness, but they can also validate unproven claims. Coercive quarantines, public executions and tolerance of ordeals create new fear while claiming to suppress it.

Accusations follow unequal power. Children, women, poor families and socially isolated people are more likely to be punished as alleged witches. In political rumours, by contrast, suspicion often travels upwards towards officials and wealthy patrons believed to possess hidden influence.

What the evidence does and does not show

Liberia has strong evidence of violence associated with witchcraft accusations, including assault, forced confession, expulsion and dangerous ordeals. There is also clear evidence of mutilated killings, wartime atrocities and harmful misinformation during Ebola. What is often harder to establish is the supernatural or political motive attributed to a particular event.

That difference matters. Calling every suspicious death a ritual killing may contaminate investigations, provoke mob action and endanger innocent people. Dismissing all ritual-killing concerns as superstition, however, can silence families whose relatives were genuinely murdered. The responsible approach is to investigate the physical crime rigorously while treating claims about magical purpose, secret clients or political sponsorship as hypotheses requiring separate proof.

Likewise, criticism of witchcraft-linked abuse should not become contempt for Liberian religion or culture. Belief is not the same thing as persecution. Many religious leaders, traditional authorities, child-protection workers and community organisations oppose violence arising from accusations. Liberia’s own courts have long rejected ordeals, and local initiatives have helped accused children return to safer lives.[The Library of Congress]blogs.loc.govtrial by ordeal in liberiaillegal and abominable method of trial by ordeal which this court has repeatedly held to be unconstitutional and therefore illegal. Yet TBO…

The most effective reforms are therefore practical rather than theatrical: credible homicide investigations, protection for accused people, prosecution of assault and torture, accountable policing, accessible healthcare and communication through trusted community networks. These measures reduce not only physical harm but also the uncertainty in which contagious fear thrives.

Why these stories still matter

Liberia’s collective fears remain culturally important because they concern a question larger than supernatural belief: who possesses hidden power, and who can be trusted to restrain it? Stories of witches, ritual patrons, invulnerable fighters and deceptive health workers all turn on the possibility that visible institutions conceal another reality.

That suspicion has been reinforced by historical experience. Political exclusion, civil war, impunity and weak public services have repeatedly shown Liberians that official appearances may be misleading. A rumour can therefore function as social criticism even when its literal claim is false. Talk of ritual murder may express anger about elite privilege; witchcraft accusations may reveal family conflict and economic strain; Ebola conspiracies may expose justified distrust of government.

The danger begins when this symbolic language is treated as sufficient evidence against a person or community. Liberia’s history demonstrates that collective belief can identify real anxieties while still producing false accusations, mob violence and cruel punishment. Understanding both sides of that truth is more useful than labelling the country’s experiences as either primitive superstition or simple mass hysteria.

Amazon book picks

Further Reading

Books and field guides related to When Fear Became Power in Liberia. Use these as the next step if you want deeper reading beyond the article.

Book

The Mask of Anarchy

By Unknown author

Covers witchcraft, ritual power, civil war and fear in Liberia.

See on Amazon

Book

The Hot Zone

By Richard Preston, Richard Preston et al.

First published 1994. Subjects: Ebola virus disease, Molecular virology, Primates as laboratory animals, Epidemias, Ebolavirus.

See on Amazon

Book

King Leopold's ghost

By Adam Hochschild

First published 1998. Subjects: Politics and government, Race relations, Forced labor, Human rights movements, Indigenous peoples.

See on Amazon

Book

The house at Sugar Beach

By Helene Cooper, Helene Cooper

First published 2008. Subjects: Biography, Childhood and youth, Elite (Social sciences), History, Journalists.

See on Amazon

Browse more on Amazon:The Mask of AnarchyThe Hot ZoneKing Leopold's ghost

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Endnotes

1. Source: unicef.org
Title: and partners bring hope children accused witchcraft liberia
Link:https://www.unicef.org/liberia/stories/unicef-and-partners-bring-hope-children-accused-witchcraft-liberia

2. Source: ohchr.org
Link:https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-12/PAP-Guidelines-EN.pdf

3. Source: state.gov
Title: Liberia 1
Link:https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Liberia-1.pdf

4. Source: kpsrl.org
Title: Ritual violence in Liberia
Link:https://kpsrl.org/sites/kpsrl/files/2024-07/Ritual%20violence%20in%20Liberia_Introduction%20Report%20style_March2024.pdf

Published: March 4, 2024

5. Source: reuters.com
Title: liberia president says ritual killings on the rise id USKCN0T900G
Link:https://www.reuters.com/article/world/liberia-president-says-ritual-killings-on-the-rise-idUSKCN0T900G/

6. Source: reuters.com
Title: Curfew imposed in northern Liberia after ritual killings
Link:https://www.reuters.com/article/world/curfew-imposed-in-northern-liberia-after-ritual-killings-spark-protests-idUSKCN0RV43W/

7. Source: reuters.com
Link:https://www.reuters.com/article/world/curfew-imposed-in-northern-liberia-after-ritual-killings-spark-protests-idUSKCN0RU2UY/

8. Source: ohchr.org
Title: liberia un expert calls probe suspected ritualistic killings
Link:https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/01/liberia-un-expert-calls-probe-suspected-ritualistic-killings

9. Source: reuters.com
Link:https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/former-liberia-warlord-prince-johnson-dies-72-2024-11-28/

10. Source: jstor.org
Link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/1157659

11. Source: who.int
Link:https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/one-year-into-the-ebola-epidemic/factors-that-contributed-to-undetected-spread-of-the-ebola-virus-and-impeded-rapid-containment

12. Source: who.int
Title: guinea the ebola virus shows its tenacity
Link:https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/one-year-into-the-ebola-epidemic/guinea-the-ebola-virus-shows-its-tenacity

13. Source: who.int
Link:https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/one-year-into-the-ebola-epidemic/key-events-in-the-who-response-to-the-ebola-outbreak

14. Source: afro.who.int
Title: ebola traditional chiefs sent messages their communities liberia
Link:https://www.afro.who.int/news/ebola-traditional-chiefs-sent-messages-their-communities-liberia

15. Source: afro.who.int
Link:https://www.afro.who.int/news/ebola-test-too-far-one-little-girl-1

16. Source: ohchr.org
Link:https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/ie-albinism/witchcraft-and-human-rights

17. Source: ohchr.org
Title: un report urges liberia act over traditional practices violate human rights
Link:https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2015/12/un-report-urges-liberia-act-over-traditional-practices-violate-human-rights

18. Source: docstore.ohchr.org
Title: Files Handler.ashx
Link:https://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=L6Gg3cbbSljwETl5Jbfqau%2BNZhehpGvZoA43RVhY7aq87%2Ba9BuFKzwbffpNkcZO2jZGKxkj4m6ezNDuX1kPAwm7EUXAkVsrwkRrECrXJHXg%3D

19. Source: spcommreports.ohchr.org
Title: Down Load Public Communication File
Link:https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27048

20. Source: ohchr.org
Link:https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/HRBodies/SP/recommendations2008.pdf

21. Source: ohchr.org
Title: cedaw chapter book faith 1 en
Link:https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/cedaw/cedaw-chapter-book-faith-1-en.pdf

22. Source: ohchr.org
Title: Moving Away from the Death Penalty 2015 web
Link:https://www.ohchr.org/en/newyork/Documents/Moving-Away-from-the-Death-Penalty-2015-web.pdf

23. Source: docstore.ohchr.org
Title: Files Handler.ashx
Link:https://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=XxzEqOl3AbiRVVOJjaXiuuFRqbPKynn7aM8vSU%2B5aUfHTxW6RdK%2FoQrn5ieqMvc9Vu9xXLVy1%2BQoHYD2udKJxQ%3D%3D

24. Source: reuters.com
Title: violence boycott cast gloom over liberias run off id USTRE7A65XA
Link:https://www.reuters.com/article/world/violence-boycott-cast-gloom-over-liberias-run-off-idUSTRE7A65XA/

25. Source: 2021-2025.state.gov
Link:https://2021-2025.state.gov/report/custom/28904784cd/

26. Source: 2021-2025.state.gov
Link:https://2021-2025.state.gov/report/custom/3b57b4d9fd/

27. Source: afro.who.int
Title: ebola virus disease west africa update 31 july 2014
Link:https://www.afro.who.int/news/ebola-virus-disease-west-africa-update-31-july-2014
Published: july 2014

28. Source: iris.who.int
Title: roadmapsitrep 8Oct2014 eng
Link:https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/136020/roadmapsitrep_8Oct2014_eng.pdf

29. Source: who.int
Link:https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2014_07_17_ebola-en

30. Source: who.int
Link:https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/country-case-studies/liberia-covid-19-case-study-final-%28002%29.pdf

31. Source: who.int
Title: Ebola virus disease update
Link:https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2014_08_06_ebola-en

32. Source: news.trust.org
Title: 20151218162423 n8153
Link:https://news.trust.org/item/20151218162423-n8153

33. Source: jstor.org
Link:https://www.jstor.org/content/pdf/oa_book_monograph/10.1525/j.ctt1ffjng5.pdf

34. Source: jstor.org
Link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/48586752

35. Source: unicef.org
Title: Children accused of witchcraft in Africa.pdf
Link:https://www.unicef.org/nigeria/media/1326/file/%20Children-accused-of-witchcraft-in-Africa.pdf.pdf

36. Source: unmil.unmissions.org
Link:https://unmil.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/harmful_traditional_practices_final_-_18_dec._2015.pdf

37. Source: blogs.loc.gov
Title: trial by ordeal in liberia
Link:https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2011/07/trial-by-ordeal-in-liberia/

38. Source: guernicamag.com
Title: Guernica Blood and Power: Investigating a Ritual Murder in Liberia
Link:https://www.guernicamag.com/investigating-ritual-murder-liberia/

Published: November 28, 2017

39. Source: thenewhumanitarian.org
Link:https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/55163/liberia-bryant-warns-presidential-candidates-against-ritual-killings

40. Source: newyorker.com
Title: The New Yorker The Devil They Know
Link:https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1998/07/27/the-devil-they-know

41. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Title: Pub Med Central Overcoming distrust to deliver universal health coverage
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6753668/

42. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5241909/

43. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4674104/

44. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Title: Pub Med Central Historical Parallels, Ebola Virus Disease and Cholera
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4739438/

45. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3588562/

46. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7111626/

47. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10158957/

48. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10210265/

49. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4655935/

50. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8824372/

51. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5480832/

52. Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Link:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11610494/

53. Source: Wikipedia
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poro

54. Source: corpusjurisliberia.wordpress.com
Title: trial by ordeal
Link:https://corpusjurisliberia.wordpress.com/tag/trial-by-ordeal/

55. Source: judiciary.gov.lr
Title: revised rules of the supreme court i
Link:https://judiciary.gov.lr/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/REVISED-RULES-OF-THE-SUPREME-COURT.pdf

56. Source: theadvocatesforhumanrights.org
Link:https://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/International_Submissions/A/Index?id=570

57. Source: earlywarningproject.ushmm.org
Link:https://earlywarningproject.ushmm.org/countries/liberia

58. Source: thenewhumanitarian.org
Title: rights child witchcraft allegations rise
Link:https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/report/89858/rights-child-witchcraft-allegations-rise

59. Source: unmil.unmissions.org
Link:https://unmil.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/report_on_harmful_traditional_practices.pdf

Additional References

60. Source: chrissmith.house.gov
Link:https://chrissmith.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2023-09-19-_efforts_to_address_ritual_abuse_and_sacrifice_in_africa-obed_byamugisha.pdf

61. Source: youtube.com
Title: Ebola Patient Escapes Quarantine, Spreads Panic in Monrovia
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-JZEaeOmfE

62. Source: researchgate.net
Link:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/377489062_READINGS_AND_ANALYSES_OF_THE_LIBERIAN_2023_PRESIDENTIAL_ELECTIONS_A_WAY_FORWARD_FROM_A_PROCEDURAL_DEMOCRACY_TO_A_SUBSTANTIVE_DEMOCRACY

63. Source: researchgate.net
Link:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/394393704_Ritual_violence_in_Liberia_2_Studying_ritual_violence_in_history-Assessing_lack_of_insights_and_knowledge

64. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/libobserver/posts/a-young-girl-accused-of-being-a-witch-in-liberia-faces-brutal-assault-sparking-n/1241083341361292/

65. Source: occrp.org
Link:https://www.occrp.org/en/news/africa-witchcraft-accusations-against-children-still-prevalent

66. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/Politicalplatfom101/posts/newspapers-headlines-for-monday-24th-august-2020-please-stay-safe-vanguard-the-o/1201872896831672/

67. Source: trtafrika.com
Link:https://www.trtafrika.com/english/article/15345110

68. Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/groups/466831980987567/posts/1593038868366867/

69. Source: ecoi.net
Link:https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1355369/1930_1293473714_lbr35260.pdf