The Superstition that Dismembers the African Child: An Exploration of the Scale and Features of Juju-Driven Paedicide in Ghana

Abstract

Juju-related child homicide or ritual paedicide (i.e. killing children for ritual or occult purposes) has been the subject of many media reports in Africa. The present study explores the evolution, magnitude, motivations and primary features of ritual paedicide, and identifies the socio-cultural, religious and economic contexts of this crime in contemporary Ghana. An in-depth analysis of ritual homicide cases/reports publicized in three local Ghanaian media outlets between 2013 and 2020 was carried out to realize this aim. Semi-structured interviews involving 20 participants were then conducted to gain additional insights into key aspects of the results of the media content analysis. The data demonstrate that juju-involved murders are widespread in Ghana, and the worst victims are children of low socio-economic backgrounds in rural communities. Poor parental supervision is a significant risk factor for ritual paedicide. Perpetrators and prime suspects are predominantly young adult males, aged between 20 and 39 years, unemployed or on a low income. Most perpetrators are motivated by financial gain. The study highlights the need for economic improvement and promoting formal and public education. It also stresses the need to bring juju practitioners under closer scrutiny and criminalize some of their activities.

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“…A prevailing perception among some 'occult medicine specialists' is that virgins embody qualities of cleanliness, purity, or even magical essence. There is a widespread belief that rituals or medicines stand a significantly higher chance of producing the desired effects if a virgin or items directly associated with a virgin are incorporated (see Ashforth 2005;Owusu 2022;Perlmutter 2003;Tanner 2010). As a result, individuals seeking wealth, protection, power, longevity, and other aspirations through spiritualists may receive instructions from occult medicine specialties to engage in acts such as sleeping with virgins or providing sexual fluids or body parts of virgins as integral components of the rituals necessary for fulfilling their requests (Owusu 2022, p. 25).…”

Breaking the School-to-prison Pipeline: A Critical Review of Factors Responsible for Students’ Truancy

“…The endemic nature of poverty in several Ghanaian homes is demonstrated in a study by Owusu [45] purporting to finding reasons juveniles engage themselves in early employment in Kumasi, the Ashanti Region of Ghana. According to this study, 44% of juveniles who went into early employment needed money to buy textbooks, school uniforms or to pay for their school fees while 27% of them engaged in trading activities in order to supplement the household budget.…”