Witch craft competition outlawed

A competition pitting witch doctors against each other in a battle of skills was banned last week. The Times of Swaziland quoted the event organisers as saying the competition, which would have seen witch doctors competing against traditional healers, was previously sanctioned by King Sobhuza II, who died in 1982. A report on the News24 site notes that organisers had planned to hold the competition in Manzini. 'The proposed competition of witchcraft and magic spells was unheard of in the country and it was regarded as an anomaly in the lives of the people of eSwatini,' said government spokesman Percy Simelane. He added that 'anyone who will persist with any activity related to witchcraft will face the full might of the law'. The Witchcraft Act of 1889 defines witchcraft, sorcery or the practice of voodoo as a punishable offence.