World Vision speaks out following ‘Witchcraft’ murder verdict
On Thursday 1st March 2012, Eric Bikubi and Magalie Bamu, both 28 and from London, were convicted of the murder of 15-year-old Kristy Bamu at a flat in London, after accusing him of practicing witchcraft.
Bamu and Bikubi are originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo, a war-torn country in central Africa – where World Vision has been working for nearly three decades, and is helping children accused of witchcraft who have been abandoned by their families.
World Vision has issued a joint statement with the NSPCC, and spoken out about this issue in the media:
- World Vision Chief Executive Justin Byworth spoke on BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight (25mins into audio).
- Justin Byworth on BBC Radio Two’s Jeremy Vine show at Friday lunchtime (the story starts 7 and a half minutes in).
- David Thomson, World Vision’s Director of Policy and Programmes, on BBC Radio Five Live's Thursday Drivetime programme (2h10m into audio)
- You can read World Vision and the NSPCC’s joint statement about the case here and read real life stories about children affected by witchcraft in the DRC on the World Vision Blog