Reports have surfaced that a mob out in Papua New Guinea are responsible for the stripping, torturing and bounding of a woman accused of witchcraft, then burning her alive in front of hundreds of witnesses.
The woman, Kepari Leniata, 20, had been "accused of sorcery by relatives of a 6-year-old boy who died in a hospital on Tuesday"
She was tortured with a hot iron rod, bound, doused in gasoline, then set alight on a pile of car tires and trash in the Western Highlands provincial capital of Mount Hagen, Kakas said.
Bystanders, including many children, watched and even took photographs of Wednesday's brutal slaying. Pictures were published on the front pages of the country's largest circulating newspaper, The National and Post-Courier, while the prime minister, police and diplomats condemned the killing.
None of the people who took part in this inhumane incident were arrested. The victim's husband is being called the "prime suspect" according to Deputy Police Commissioner Simon Kauba. However, more than 50 people participated in this crime and many could find themselves in trouble with the law.
The accused witch who was burned alive just adds to the growing number of these kinds of attacks. The public doesn't hesitate to "punish" a person who practices witchcraft in Papua New Guinea.
"We are in the 21st century and this is totally unacceptable," Commissioner Kulunga said in a statement.
He suggested courts be established to deal with sorcery allegations, as an alternative to villagers dispensing justice.
