What are ritual muders/killings and how do we recognize them? This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) information page provides essential details on the practice of ritual killings.

What is ritual killing?

Ritual killing is a form of voluntary manslaughter/murder committed for the specific purpose of enhancing one’s political, financial, social standing or sexual life through witchcraft and other mystical/ritualistic means. It involves drinking the victims’ blood and/or eating specific organs (body parts) that are deemed “powerful” and removed from the body of the victims, often while the victims are still alive. Where the blood and/or body parts are not drunk or eaten, these organs and “body parts” are used in ritualistic ceremonials.

How does one identify and recognize a ritual killing?

There is no single criterion for identifying a ritualistic murder. But four main observations must be present in order to begin to identify or suspect a ritualistic killing:

1. Manner of death:  Where was the body found/killed (city, bush, forest, village, beach, river, etc.), what types of tools were used to commit the killing (machete, knife, bat, etc.), and what type of violence was used in the commission of the murder (blunt force, kidnapping, tying up the victims, strangulation, etc.)?
2. Period/time of death: What are the circumstances of the murder and when was the murder committed (for instance, during or ahead of an important national or local election)?
3. Mutilations and Missing organs/body parts: What types of mutilations are observed and what types of “body parts” and/or organs are missing/removed, if any (Breasts, tits, tongue, lips, penis, vaginal labia, heart, brain, fingers, ears, eyes, nose, etc.)?
4. Motive: Why was the murder committed, for what purpose, and by/for whom?

 What is the link between ritual killings and child trafficking?

Child trafficking has always had a strong link to child labor practices, including forced child labor as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In African countries with relative wealth such as Gabon, immigration from poorer West African nations has developed and with it an illegal importation of children from West Africa who have been used either by these West Africans themselves in such areas as street vending or domestic servitude, or by affluent Gabonese civil servants and politicians in often unpaid, exploitative domestic labor functions. With the growing “body part” market and demand stemming from the practice of ritual killings in Gabon, child trafficking for the purpose of ritualistically collecting “body parts” is expected to become a problem as children may increasingly be forcefully imported into Gabon from West Africa for the specific purpose of being killed to satisfy the national demand for “body parts.”