LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY shaunathan)

Thousands of child "witches" turned on to the streets to starve

From the article:

Then there are the new fundamentalist Christian sects, of whichthere are thousands in Kinshasa. They make money out of identifying'witches' and increasingly parents bring troublesome children to thepastors. 'It's a business,' says Mafu. 'For a fee of $5 or $10 theyinvestigate the children and confirm they are possessed. For a furtherfee they take the child and exorcise them, often keeping them withoutfood for days, beating and torturing them to chase out the devil.'

Childrenwho do well in school can also be accused of witchcraft. The commoncharge is they have been seen flying or eating human flesh. Theirconfessions of killing and eating relatives are broadcast live on TVchannels owned by evangelical churches. What once seemed aberrationsfrom extremist sects now seem to be becoming commonplace.