Forty-five people died in the commune of Muinha, in the municipality of Camacupa, Bié province, after being forced to ingest a liquid made from herbs, called “Mbulungo”, to prove whether or not they had committed a certain crime, “generally for witchcraft”
Deaths were recorded from December 2023 to February this year. Mbulungo is a poison produced by a supposed diviner (quimbandeiro). The liquid is toxic and is given to a person who is being accused of the death of someone in the village.
The suspect is forced to drink the poison and if the effect causes his death, “then the accusation is proven”. Speaking to ANGOP, the communal administrator of Muinha, Luzia Filemone, expressed concern that the practice still prevails in that location.
According to the administrator, everything happens when there are disagreements between families, especially when someone in the village dies under suspicion of witchcraft.
“In order to prove the guilt of the crime, people go to the alleged quimbandeiro and many do not always return alive, as the poison kills within a few hours”, he lamented.
He said that the last episode occurred in February this year in Ombala de Tchonga, where 12 people drank the poison and three did not resist, succumbing on the same day.
To discourage the practice, the Muinha communal administration has been developing awareness-raising actions, warning about the danger of the practice, however, there is still resistance from many families, who prefer this type of judgment.
“The producer of the poison has been identified and will soon be notified for appropriate clarification and treatment,” he guaranteed.
The use of Mbulungo is registered in almost the entire territory of the Muinha commune, which controls 165 villages.
Recently, the governor of the province of Bié, Pereira Alfredo, who visited the town, also expressed concern about the phenomenon, saying that it is also occurring in some villages in the municipality of Chitembo.
According to Pereira Alfredo, the State protects life and works to strengthen families. “Such practices cannot be allowed to continue to destabilize life in communities”, he highlighted.
He highlighted that the best way to resolve any conflict in the community is to seek out traditional, ecclesiastical authorities and other representatives of local power.