How Witchcraft Accusations Became Their Own Proof

Introduction

Witchcraft accusations in Liberia are not simply expressions of traditional belief. They have often functioned as an informal justice system in which suspicion itself becomes evidence, leading to forced confessions, violent punishment and dangerous trials by ordeal. Illness, unexplained death, family conflict, financial hardship or repeated misfortune can all trigger accusations that someone has caused harm through hidden supernatural powers. Once an allegation gains social acceptance, ordinary standards of proof frequently disappear. Human rights investigations have shown that women, children, older people and other vulnerable members of society are especially at risk, while official attempts to prohibit abusive practices have struggled against deeply rooted local customs and weak law enforcement.[OHCHR]ohchr.orgUNITED NATIONS MISSION IN LIBERIA An AssSeptember 25, 2024…Published: September 25, 2024

How Witchcraft Accusations Became Their Own Proof

Unlike a criminal investigation based on physical evidence, many witchcraft accusations begin with events that have no obvious explanation. A child’s illness, a failed harvest, an unexpected death or a business failure may be interpreted as the work of hidden supernatural forces rather than chance or natural causes.

This creates a self-reinforcing process. Once someone is identified as a suspected witch, almost any behaviour can be reinterpreted as confirmation. Calmness may be viewed as concealment, distress as guilt, and denial as further proof that supernatural powers are being hidden. Confessions extracted through fear, intimidation or violence are then presented as validating the original accusation, even though they were obtained under coercion. Human rights organisations describe this as a cycle in which accusations generate the very “evidence” used to justify further punishment.[OHCHR]ohchr.orgUNITED NATIONS MISSION IN LIBERIA An AssSeptember 25, 2024…Published: September 25, 2024

The accusations rarely emerge in isolation. They are often intertwined with disputes over inheritance, land, marriage, family authority or community tensions. In communities where official policing or courts are distant or mistrusted, accusations may become an alternative way of resolving conflict outside the formal legal system.[OHCHR]ohchr.orgUNITED NATIONS MISSION IN LIBERIA An AssSeptember 25, 2024…Published: September 25, 2024

Who Was Accused and Why

The pattern of accusations documented in Liberia shows that vulnerability matters as much as belief.

A joint investigation by the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 31 documented incidents between January 2012 and September 2015 involving at least 214 accused people. Among them were at least:

Children are especially vulnerable because adults may insist that a child can practise witchcraft without understanding it. A frightened child may eventually repeat accusations suggested by relatives or religious figures simply to end questioning or abuse. UNICEF has documented children being beaten, isolated, expelled from their communities, denied education and subjected to exorcisms or cleansing rituals after such allegations. Some abandoned children later become homeless or vulnerable to trafficking.[UNICEF]unicef.orgUNICEF and partners bring hope to children accused of witchcraft in Liberia | UNICEF Liberia…

Women, particularly widows and older women, also face elevated risks. Inheritance disputes, family disagreements or longstanding social tensions may become reframed as evidence of witchcraft. Human rights investigators even documented cases in which women accused of witchcraft were sexually assaulted during ordeals intended to establish their guilt.[OHCHR]ohchr.orgUNITED NATIONS MISSION IN LIBERIA An AssSeptember 25, 2024…Published: September 25, 2024

How Trials by Ordeal Worked

A trial by ordeal attempts to determine guilt through physical suffering or ritual rather than factual investigation. In Liberia these practices are commonly known by the term “sassywood”, although methods vary between regions and practitioners.

The UN investigation documented numerous forms of ordeal, including:

• forcing suspects to drink poisonous or emetic substances;

The outcome was rarely objective. A person’s injuries, survival, vomiting or inability to complete the ordeal could all be interpreted according to the judgement of the ordeal practitioner. Since the interpretation rested with the ritual authority rather than any independent evidence, the procedure could validate almost any conclusion.

The investigations also noted financial incentives. Ordeal practitioners often charged substantial fees, which were commonly paid by the accused themselves. In some documented cases, chiefs and ordeal practitioners reportedly shared fines imposed after accusations of witchcraft, creating an economic motive for sustaining the practice.[OHCHR]ohchr.orgUNITED NATIONS MISSION IN LIBERIA An AssSeptember 25, 2024…Published: September 25, 2024

Why Formal Law Often Failed to Stop Them

Liberian law has long rejected trial by ordeal.

The country’s Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that determining guilt through ordeals rather than lawful evidence is unconstitutional. Legal commentary notes that the Court condemned these practices because they bypass the ordinary justice system and expose suspects to torture or death without due process.[OHCHR]ohchr.orgUNITED NATIONS MISSION IN LIBERIA An AssSeptember 25, 2024…Published: September 25, 2024

In practice, however, enforcement has often been inconsistent.

The UN investigation found that chiefs, traditional authorities, ordeal practitioners and even some officials connected with local government structures continued to participate in or tolerate ordeals. In some areas, cases described as “cultural” were handled through traditional authority structures rather than the ordinary courts. Limited policing, lack of resources, deference to customary authority and fear of challenging community beliefs all contributed to continued use of these practices.[OHCHR]ohchr.orgUNITED NATIONS MISSION IN LIBERIA An AssSeptember 25, 2024…Published: September 25, 2024

United States human rights reporting similarly concluded that although trial by ordeal was illegal, authorities frequently failed to investigate or prosecute offenders because of limited capacity and the perceived cultural sensitivity of the issue.[ecoi.net]ecoi.netUSDOS – US Department of State (Author): “Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2017 - Liberia”, Document #1430141 - ecoi.net…

Protection Without Criminalising Belief

Human rights organisations distinguish between holding supernatural beliefs and committing harmful acts because of those beliefs.

Neither the UN nor UNICEF argues that cultural or religious beliefs themselves should be criminalised. Instead, they focus on preventing violence, coercion, torture, forced confessions and discrimination arising from accusations.

Recommended responses include:

This approach recognises that directly attacking deeply held beliefs may prove counterproductive, while enforcing laws against violence offers clearer protection for victims.

Why the Pattern Persists

The persistence of witchcraft accusations reflects broader social conditions rather than a simple survival of old customs.

Periods of insecurity, poverty, weak public services and limited confidence in formal justice make supernatural explanations more persuasive when tragedy strikes. If communities believe ordinary institutions cannot explain sudden misfortune or punish hidden wrongdoing, alternative systems of accusation and ordeal may appear to offer certainty where evidence cannot.

For that reason, researchers generally interpret Liberia’s witchcraft accusations less as episodes of irrational mass panic than as mechanisms of informal social control. They become powerful because they provide culturally meaningful explanations during moments of uncertainty, while simultaneously redistributing blame onto individuals who often have little ability to defend themselves. The resulting cycle—suspicion, accusation, coerced confession and ordeal—helps explain why witchcraft allegations have remained one of Liberia’s most persistent forms of collective persecution despite their clear illegality.[ohchr.org]ohchr.orgUNITED NATIONS MISSION IN LIBERIA An AssSeptember 25, 2024…Published: September 25, 2024

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Endnotes

1. Source: ohchr.org
Link:https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Countries/LR/HarmfulTraditionalPracticesLiberia.pdf

Published: September 25, 2024

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

3. Source: ecoi.net
Link:https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/1395487.html

4. Source: ecoi.net
Link:https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/1407927.html

Published: December 2015

5. Source: ecoi.net
Link:https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/1430141.html

6. Source: docstore.ohchr.org
Title: Files Handler.ashx
Link:https://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=vIuqIdj8SbjpJXXIpHJJmEUMCCvIA%2B6afTtacIDwg2Tx5XzKETS%2BUjel74I6ms1VVNLQpQiLnGVZz9r70MPpOw%3D%3D

7. Source: docstore.ohchr.org
Title: Files Handler.ashx
Link:https://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=HcREnJw%2Fy3BirpwTBHuCIBuvmnz%2BNFf4GiisaeV2%2BmzIb5uH9sTh9x4%2FDhDHZBHajIiINftO%2BkHNcAxRvNRqaw%3D%3D

8. Source: academic.oup.com
Link:https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/61663/chapter/553472333?searchresult=1

Published: April 17, 2024

Additional References

9. Source: youtube.com
Title: Meet the anti-witch hunter
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzBi8KVSwlY

10. Source: youtube.com
Title: Dispatches: Return To Africa’s Witch Children | Extreme Christianity Documentary
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y06sKAg9Do

11. Source: youtube.com
Title: Public Torture & Humiliation Over Witchcraft Accusation in River Gee
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9bSPjoKW7A

12. Source: youtube.com
Title: ‘Witchcraft’ in Africa: Many women find it hard to prove innocence
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV0ubcWkC4k

13. Source: refworld.org
Link:https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/usdos/2017/en/116377

Published: March 3, 2017

14. Source: scribd.com
Link:https://www.scribd.com/document/900515932/Harmful-Traditional-Practices18Dec-2015

15. Source: youtube.com
Title: 5 Strange & Disturbing Trials By Ordeal From History
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtCwlVN6E5o

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

17. Source: digitallibrary.un.org
Link:https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/801006

18. Source: uprdatabase.org
Link:https://www.uprdatabase.org/node/19949