Forty-five people died in the commune of Muinha, in the municipality of Camacupa, Bié province, following being forced to drink a liquid made from herbs, called “Mbulungo”, to prove whether or not they had committed a certain crime, “generally by witchcraft.”
Deaths were recorded from December 2023 to February this year.
Mbulungo is a poison produced by a supposed fortune teller (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 and succumbed on the same day.
To discourage the practice, the Muinha communal administration has been developing awareness-raising actions, warning regarding 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 practice of using Mbulungo is registered in almost the entire territory of the Muinha commune, which controls 165 villages.