Kenyan Witchhunt Leaves 11 Burned To Death

Officials in Kenya say a mob has killed 11 people accused of being witches and wizards, in some cases slitting their throats or clubbing them to death before burning their bodies.

A local official says up to 300 young men moved from house to house, using a list of suspected witches and wizards and the kind of spells they were believed to have cast on the community. One local official says the victims are being accused of "making the bright children in the community dumb."

A police spokesman says eight women and three men — most over the age of 70 — were hunted down and killed. Another officer says the mob set 36 homes on fire and threw the victims' bodies back inside.

Deputy police spokesman Charles Owino says the mob hunted down the eight women and three men in two villages in the western Kenya district of Kisii Central. Owino says most of the victims were between 70 and 90 years old.

Senior administrator Njoroge Ndirangu says the mob used a list Tuesday night and Wednesday morning to hunt down people they said were suspected witches and wizards.

"These people identified who is to be killed by accusing their victims of bewitching their sons and daughters," says Ndirangu. Ndirangu is the commissioner in charge of Kisii Central district.