Police are warning that bald men in Mozambique may be getting targeted for ritual attacks, after two suspects were apprehended for a gruesome multiple murder that left the victims horribly mutilated.
The country has a recent history of superstition-inspired killings, which typically target albinos due to their abnormal skin pigmentation. Most of these killings could be traced to witchdoctors, who elicit superstitious people to retrieve their victims' limbs and organs for the purpose of creating potions and charms.
Now, these doctors “have switched tactics, targeting bald men rather than people with albinism,” according to BBC correspondent Jose Tembe.
In a statement, Police Commander Afonso Dias remarked, “The belief is that the head of a bald man contains gold. The killers think they can enrich themselves out of it.”
“This is not different from the previous belief that people with albinism had magic powers to enrich other people. Now, criminals here have ceased to target albinos. They are now after people who are bald,” he added.
Two suspects accused of ritualistically murdering bald men were arrested in the central district of Milange, where the murders took place. Dias said their motives were based on “superstition and culture." Both suspects are around 20 years of age, as reported by AFP news agency.
Miguel Caetano, a security spokesman in the region, told AFP that one of the victim’s had his head cut off and his organs removed, which were to be used in rituals aimed at increasing the wealth of clients in Tanzania and Malawi, the suspects said.
Although the killings were localized in one place, it isn’t unlikely that this myth will spread to other regions of the country. Mozambique and many other countries plagued with ritual killings may continue their course unless direct action is taken to prevent these murders.
That being said, it's often difficult to convince locals to abandon their long-held superstitions and dangerous cultural practices. Until better understanding of objective reality becomes commonplace, anyone -- be it a bald man, an albino, or seemingly anyone else -- could be at risk.
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