Tanzanian business people among 28 suspects arrested for ritual killings of children
Njombe Regional Police Commander (RPC) Ms Renata Mzinga
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Several prominent business people are among the 28 suspects who are being held for questioning by the police in connection with the brutal killings of children in Njombe, the Njombe Regional Police Commander (RPC) said on Monday, February 4, 2019.
Njombe. Several prominent businesspeople are among the 28 suspects who are being held for questioning by the police in connection with the brutal killings of children in Njombe, the Njombe Regional Police Commander (RPC) said on Monday, February 4, 2019.
Ms Renata Mzinga told journalists here that six of the 28 suspects are traditional healers.
In Njombe, like in other African communities, children are being killed for their body parts which are used in witchcraft rituals because of superstitions that they can bring riches, success, power or sexual conquest.
According to RPC Mzinga, investigators will keep questioning the suspects until they acquire enough information that will lead to the dismantling of the entire network of brutal killers.
Regional authorities say at least ten children have been killed in Njombe in a period of one month and that the killers were also chopping off the children's reproductive and respiratory organs in the killings that are linked to superstitious beliefs.
“In partnership with a special force - from the Police Headquarters in Dar es Salaam – which has joined our team in the endeavour to arrest the situation, we will keep hunting them wherever they are. So far, we have arrested 20 people, including businesspeople, traditional healers and other ordinary citizens,” she said.
She said police were holding one suspect or more in connection with each of the several reported killing incidents.
“We have gathered information that some of the killers, including traditional healers, have fled the region. The good news is that we know where they are hiding and we will go for them until they are brought to book,” she said.
She called upon Njombe residents to continue cooperating with the police force in the hunt for ‘killers of innocent children’, adding that the law enforcers was also intensifying its public awareness and education programme that will enable Njombe residents to be able to identify people who harbour ill motives within their community.
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