Latest / Shades of Murder / 64: Christmas Witchcraft Murder - Kristy Bamu, London, UK

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64: Christmas Witchcraft Murder - Kristy Bamu, London, UK · Shades of Murder

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On December 25th, 2010, in East London, first responders were
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horrified when they entered a couple's flat whose walls,
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floors, ceilings and furniture were spattered with blood.
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Inside the bathroom, a young man was lying outside the tub.
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Who was this victim and who was the monster who had tortured and
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murdered him on Christmas Day? Hello and welcome to shades of
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murder. I am your host Alita Caldwell.
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In this podcast, I discuss cases of murder from around the world
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and throughout history, attempting to unravel the layers
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of darkness that help make humans into monsters.
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Please be forewarned that each episode contains specific and at
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times very graphic and disturbing details of the case.
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This show is not intended for all audiences and listener to
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discretion is strongly advised. When officers and medical
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responders arrived at an 8 story flat in London to attend to an
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unresponsive young man, they were not prepared for the
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chaotic and blood soaked scene that awaited them.
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There were two adults, one who was the victim's oldest sister,
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her boyfriend, and three younger people who identify themselves
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as the victim's siblings. There was no tree gifts or any
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festive signs of the holiday season.
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Some of the children were crying and other occupants said nothing
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at all. The young man was pronounced
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dead at the scene. His name was initially unknown
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but would later be identified as 15 year old Christie Bamu.
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First responders observed how the boy had deep lacerations to
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his head, but strangely only a miniscule amount of blood was
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found near his body. When the victim was taken
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outside the flat and into the building corridor, they noticed
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he had many injuries. Christie had a black eye, there
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were cuts on his left arm and lower back, and a few of his
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teeth were missing. An autopsy was performed which
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revealed 101 separate injuries on the boy.
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There were so many injuries that a post mortem examination could
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not officially determine his exact cause of death.
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Investigators arrested and brought into custody 28 year old
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Eric Bokubi and 29 year old Magali Bamu, both natives of the
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Democratic Republic of Congo, on suspicion of murder.
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The couple was charged with murder and two counts each of
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causing actual bodily harm for the abuse inflicted upon the
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other Bamu children. Both suspects initially denied
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killing 15 year old Christie Bamu.
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Eric Bakubi later changed his story, claiming that he was
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mentally ill and that his brain impairment had made him believe
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that Christie Bamu was involved in witchcraft.
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His belief that Christie was a threat to him and Magali had led
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him to commit horrific acts of violence against a young man
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Eric Bokubi pled guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of
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diminished responsibility due to impairment from a brain injury
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or mental disease. The prosecution rejected his
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plea. Magali Bamu denied all charges
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against her and claimed that her boyfriend had forced her to
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participate in the children's abuse.
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Based on Eric Bokubi's confession and testimony
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provided by Christie Bamu's siblings, the following sequence
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of events occurred between December 16th and Christmas Day
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2010 in a flat lease by the couple and Newham, East London.
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During the trial, the Old Bailey jury court would hear shocking
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and brutal methods that were used on the young boy to elicit
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a confession of being a witch. On December 16th 2010, the Bammu
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siblings had travelled from Paris to Newham, East London.
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Christie, 15, Eves, 22 and Kelly, 20, along with their two
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younger siblings went to visit their eldest sister, Magali Bamu
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and her long term boyfriend Eric Bukubi.
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Everything at first was fine, but within a few days the couple
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had accused the children of bringing dark forces,
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specifically Kondoki, the term for Congolese witchcraft or
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sorcery, into their home. The nightmare began 3 days after
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they arrived. One night the bathroom was
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occupied and Christy desperately needed to use it.
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He ended up wetting his pants and out of fear and shame he hid
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his underpants inside a bag in the kitchen.
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Eric Bukubi discovered them the next morning.
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According to Kondoki believes one of the signs of being
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possessed by evil spirits or witchcraft is wetting the bed.
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Christy was now the couples main target.
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Eric believed that Christie was possessed and that he was
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influencing the behavior of one of the younger children.
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Eric Bakubi insisted that over the next three days the children
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would be given very little food or sleep.
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Eric and Magalie proceeded to beat 3 of the siblings into
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confession. Christie's sisters, who were 11
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and 20 at the time, chose to lie and confess to being witches to
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escape their escalating wrath. Eric Bukubi threatened to kill
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Christie Bammu, attacking him with a dumbbell bar and a stick.
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He was struck with weight lifting bars, a curtain pole,
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stabbed with knives and hit with a hammer and a chisel.
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Anything and everything the couple could locate in the flat
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to inflict pain and suffering on the boy they used as tools of
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torture. Christie gave in, fearing for
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his life, and admitted to being there on a mission to kill Eric,
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his sister and one of their siblings.
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But that wasn't enough. His false confession of being a
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sorcerer, pleading for their forgiveness and then asking to
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be freed from this misery was still not sufficient for the
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sadistic couple. The teenage boy was severely
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beaten and bleeding profusely. Eric forced his siblings to hold
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him down as he bashed his head with four floor ceramic tiles.
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After days of starvation and horrendous physical and
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psychological abuse, the boy begged his assailants just to
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let him die. It was Christmas Eve.
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By Christmas Day, the walls, floor, ceiling and furniture of
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the flat were spattered with his blood and Christy was begging to
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die. He was dragged to the bathroom
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where he endured several more hours of beatings.
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Eric shoved him into the tub. Christie lay on the floor of the
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tub as Eric sprayed cold water on him, but Christie was too
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wounded to move. They filled up the tub and the
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deranged couple forced Christie's siblings to sit on
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his chest, holding him down in the bathtub in a cleansing
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ritual. One of the younger children
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described that when Eric noticed Christie was no longer moving,
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he pulled him out of the tub and tried giving him a heart
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massage, but it didn't help. Christie had stopped moving and
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he wasn't breathing anymore. 15 year old Christie Bammu was
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deceased. Eric Bakubi's defense claimed
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that he suffered from severe brain damage, and he genuinely
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believed that Christie was a witch.
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The defense presented a brain scan that showed lesions
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indicating some degree of damage or impairment that partially led
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to his actions. Although there was some evidence
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of brain damage or mental illness present in Eric Bokobe
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that may have helped to perpetuate his violent behavior,
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Christie Bammu's sister Magali had none.
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She had also claimed that she didn't even believe in
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witchcraft or Kondoki. When Magali Bammu took the stand
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in her defence, she burst into tears, weaving a tale about how
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her boyfriend had accused her siblings of witchcraft and had
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begun assaulting them. She described how Eric punched
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them and hit them with a piece of wood.
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Eric forced her to slap them. Magalie sobbed in the courtroom,
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saying I couldn't do anything. I was so scared, I was
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petrified. I've never seen Eric like this
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before. Magali Bamu claimed that she
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felt under duress to follow her boyfriend's accusations and
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partake in the abuse. Yet there was no history of
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domestic violence or control between the couple.
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In fact, the evidence revealed that Christie's sister had
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willingly participated in the brutal, horrific acts of
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violence her younger brother was subjected to that led to his
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death. The truth was much more ominous
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than the picture Magali Bamu had portrayed to the jury during the
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trial. Christie's older sister Kelly,
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one of the victims who was specified within the bodily harm
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charges, along with her younger unnamed sister, testified to the
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nightmare she and her siblings were put through.
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Now 21 years old, she told the judge how the couple were
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obsessed with the idea that they were possessed and had come
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there to kill them. On the surface, this shocking,
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tragic story appears to be committed by the actions of two
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delusional, psychotic individuals.
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The reasons behind the torture and killing of a teenage boy
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sounds ludicrous, insane, just a bizarre anomaly of a crime.
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But the truth is much more terrifying.
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I had discussed the witch trials throughout the world extensively
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in episode 14, but in particular in Europe and the Americas
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during the 1400s through the 1700s.
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If you haven't already, please listen to this very relevant and
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captivating episode. It is one of my favorite pieces
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and extremely relevant to this case.
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Within the story, I touch upon the fact that people today are
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still accused of witchcraft, especially in parts of Asia and
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many parts of Africa. They are haunted, down
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exercised, and even executed. However, before performing
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research into the subject for this case, I had no idea of the
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high prevalence of incidents and how, in particular, children are
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at the highest risk of being labeled as witches or otherwise
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possessed by dark evil spirits. Doctor Richard Hoskins testified
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on behalf of the prosecution. An expert in African religions
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and witchcraft who has assisted in more than 100 criminal
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investigations, he provided significant insight into the
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crisis of Kondoki and how it is spread into the United Kingdom
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and other Western nations. A study conducted by Doctor
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Hoskins indicated that as high as a 90% of African churches in
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London. Belief in Kondoki According to
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Doctor Richard Hoskins, in the Congo and much of Africa, little
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is being done to combat the problem of children being abused
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based on beliefs of witchcraft. After years of resistance.
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There has been discussion and much progress made in the areas
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of female genital mutilation, terrorism and pedophilia there,
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but extremist beliefs regarding religion typically protecting
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children from accusations of witchcraft, much of the
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community remains silent about. During his testimony, he
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explained the misperception of Kandoki and how the contemporary
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view and practice do not originate from traditional
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Congolese beliefs. Rather, it is the dangerous
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melding of fundamental Western Christian beliefs amongst the
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violence, corruption and extreme poverty of the environment.
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What was once seen as an exterior force that healers
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could defeat with a protective amulet or charm through the
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sacrifice of an animal or its management into the wilderness,
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has now turned into an ominous, dangerous entity created by
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Christian extremism. During the 1990s, Kondoki began
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to take on a different shape with many pastors telling their
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communities that it was the children who were being infected
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by dark evil spirits and that for it to be combated, the
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children must be exercised. Doctor Hoskins shared with the
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court how when he visited the Congo that summer, he discovered
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10s of thousands of children being held in church centers.
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These children have been accused of witchcraft and were awaiting
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deliverance. This deliverance comes at the
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cost of either money or gifts given to the pastors.
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Among the children waiting was a 10 year old girl.
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He described the girl as being so malnourished that she looked
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like a victim. A famine.
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However, according to Doctor Richard Hoskins, the accepted
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practices performed to cleanse a child of demonic possession or
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witchcraft don't mirror the degree of violence and torture
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that was inflicted on 15 year old Christy Bamu.
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The community is too close to look the other way or not be
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aware of the kind of abuse Christie and his siblings
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endured. But in the hidden anonymous
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cities in the western world like London, such torture was easy to
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conceal or at least overlook. In the urban landscape of
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London, away from others who could set them straight, much
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less safe. Christie Bamu's life The couple
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had taken these practices of the churches in the Congo and spun
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them into madness. It was known that Eric Bukubi
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had visited pastors in North London specifically to seek
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their advice on Kondoki and on performing exorcisms.
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Debbie Orio, who is the head of the charity Africans Unite
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Against Child Abuse, discussed in the trial that these beliefs
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in Kondoki are witchcraft and thus exorcism within the United
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Kingdom have been encouraged and perpetuated by some African
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churches which are placing children at a higher risk of
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abuse and violence. Similar to other corrupt and
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greedy institutions, including that of religious organizations,
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these churches are often motivated by profit and feed on
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the fierce and thus the wallets of scared immigrant relatives.
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If a child is believed to be a witch and the pastor of the
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church examines them and brands them as such, then an exorcism
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must be performed and exorcisms are not commonly performed for
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free. Debbie Oreo has personally
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helped to improve the practices and policies allowed within
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dozens of churches. However, many churches,
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especially the smaller ones that are hidden from popular view,
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continue to preach about the threats of witchcraft.
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This is only led to increased child abuse and threats of real
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violence being committed against children.
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In the United Kingdom, there is no legal obligation for faith or
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religious organizations to register with the Charity
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Commission or any other body, which leads to a lack of
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transparency. Debbie Ario's charity has been
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advocating to prosecute organizations that brand
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children as witches. Prosecution of such accusatory
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labels, in particular on children, can help to expose
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other incidents because action is finally being taken to stop
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this treatment. On the stand, Christie Bammu's
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older sister Kelly described how Eric Bokubi had told the
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children to jump out of the window to see if they could fly.
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Kelly swore that Eric was fully aware of his actions over those
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three days and how her sister Magali wasn't forced to do
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anything, nor did he threaten her.
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Kelly informed the jury that her sister Magali could have stopped
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the violence at any time and Eric would have done so at her
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request, but Magali never told him to stop and in fact
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encouraged her boyfriend to hurt the children.
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Kelly was then cross examined by Philippa Mccasney, lawyer for
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the Queen's Counsel, who represented her sister Magali
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Bamu. She attempted to paint her
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client Magali as powerless to stop the madness her boyfriend
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had initiated. QC Mccasney said to Kelly.
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You're upset because, as you see it, she failed to protect your
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brother, but she was as powerless as you all were,
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wasn't she? In fairness to this, Kelly Bammu
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replied, really, she was powerless.
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No, she could have stopped it and she didn't.
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She could have said to Eric, stop, stop, that's enough now
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and he would have stopped. Bammu's attorney once again
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tried to turn around, making Magali look like a victim,
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claiming it was nonsense, that Eric could have been stopped.
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But Kelly Bammu wasn't changing her story.
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She refused to let her sister be perceived as a victim when the
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couple had been in it together all along.
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Magali Bamu was the one who had grabbed pliers and snipped away
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at her brother Christie's ear. She tried to force Kelly to
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participate in the mutilation, but Kelly refused.
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All of the children were witnesses to how their eldest
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sister never came to their help or defense.
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Instead, they watched as Magali encouraged her boyfriend to beat
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Christie until he confessed to being a witch.
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He begged for their forgiveness over and over again, but still
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no mercy came. Kelly stated how Magali did
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nothing to help Christie or the other children.
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She said they all deserved it. At one point, Eric and Magali
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forced Kelly and Christy to tell their parents they were witches.
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Eric Bakubi sat next to Kelly with his fists tightly clenched
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the entire time while she was on the phone.
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Her mother, Jacqueline Bamu, listened, confused and not
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understanding anything she was hearing.
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Kelly told her mother a story about clothing and a doll, a
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story she had completely fabricated to prevent Eric from
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hitting her any longer. When Miss Bammu spoke to her
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eldest daughter and asked her straight out if she was hitting
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the children, Magali lied once again and said no.
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The couple justified their actions because they believed
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that Christie had cast spells on one of the children in the
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family, but Christie refused to admit to doing something evil
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and dark when he was innocent. Over 3 days, the couple
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subjected him to acts of torture.
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They were hell bent on making the boy confess to being a
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sorcerer and performed what they referred to as a deliverance
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ceremony. The pain inflicted on this young
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man became so unbearable that Christie finally relented and
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admitted to being one, but still he was given no mercy.
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Barrister Brian Altman demonstrated the extreme
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violence inflicted on the boy by the defendants.
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He presented to the jury a curtain pole which had an oddly
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shaped dent. The dent was in the shape of
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Christie Bamu's skull. After getting struck with a
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curtain pole so hard that it left a permanent skull
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impression on the metal, his sister watched as her 15 year
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old brother stumbled across the room, blood oozing from his
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head, spraying on the floor. All she said to him was don't
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sit on the sofa, you might spoil it.
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On Christmas Day, before his son Christy was savagely attacked
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and drowned, Pierre Bamu talked to his daughter who told him
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that the children were witches and that he needed to come and
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get them. Magali also told her father that
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he was a witch too. One of his child's killers, Eric
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Bukubi, spoke to him on the phone, urging him to come pick
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the children up. He told him that Christie was a
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witch and that he was practicing witchcraft in his home.
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Eric Bukubi specifically told Christie's father that if he
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didn't pick him up, he would kill him.
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Then he heard his son's voice. Christie wasn't crying.
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He was very calm and he said to him, Dad, come and get me or
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otherwise Eric will kill me. Then the phone went dead.
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Pierre Bamu attempted to hire a car to drive him to London to
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pick up Christie and his other children, but it was Christmas
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Day and the hiring firms were closed.
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Unfortunately, he never believed Christie was in any real danger
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so he ignore the threat made to his son's life.
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Pierre Bameau planned to come the following Monday because he
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just didn't believe it would come to that.
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The only reason Christie's father could provide the court
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as to why he didn't take these threats seriously is because he
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had known Eric but Kobe for years and he considered him like
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a son. Eric had always been kind,
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respectful, and even called him dad.
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The relationships that he had with Eric and his daughter
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Magali were understandably important to Pierre Balmou, but
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if only he had listened to them, and more importantly his son
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Christy, he would very likely still be alive.
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This is not to place blame upon his father, but such a case
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serves as a reminder as why it is so important to listen to
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what your children are telling you.
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He was told not only by his daughter Magali, but also his
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son, the victim, that they were going to kill him if his parents
23:21
didn't come pick them up. Pierre Bamu didn't take their
23:26
threats seriously. These threats were not given in
23:29
haste. There was no semblance of joking
23:32
around about killing his son. The couple didn't hide their
23:36
intentions at all. Both his daughter and quasi
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son-in-law and his child told him that Christie's life was in
23:45
his hands and yet he didn't take the situation seriously.
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The day of Christie Bammu's murder, neighbors heard several
23:53
people shouting and screaming from the flat.
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Their next door neighbor, Nafa Tonaranhu Nataraha stated how he
23:59
heard the voice of someone very angry, a man who was furious,
24:05
who was yelling and swearing for a good 10 to 15 minutes.
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Another one of their neighbors, Umar Anzar described the
24:12
fighting as if it was like a fish market with multiple people
24:16
shouting all at the same time. At the exact moment Christie
24:21
Bama was being drowned, a plumber was at the flat.
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While he was there, he heard a splashing sound, but he figured
24:28
it was just someone in the bath and he never gave it any
24:32
thought. At the trial, the man testified
24:34
to visiting the residence the same day to determine the source
24:38
of a plumbing leak. He described to the court how
24:41
Eric Bokobe was just sitting there.
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He was very quiet and eerily calm.
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There was no TV on or any music playing.
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There were no sounds at all except for splashing sounds that
24:56
kept coming from the bathroom. Around noon, only 20 minutes
25:01
after the plumber left the place were called.
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Upon arrival they discovered the body, a 15 year old Christie
25:08
Bammu. He was dead at the scene.
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No one in the Old Bailey courthouse was immune to the
25:14
horse inflicted on Christie Bammu that were shared by his
25:18
siblings and bone chilling detail.
25:22
His sister Kelly didn't hold back the hatred she held for her
25:26
sister Magalie for torturing and killing their younger brother.
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She screamed at her in the courtroom.
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You didn't give a damn. Kelly later told the jury that
25:36
her sister Magalie deserves to die for what they have done.
25:40
I have no pity for her. She had no pity for us.
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It was impossible to dispute the exceptionally cruel and depraved
25:50
nature of the killing. Judge David Paget, in his last
25:54
case before he retired, presided over the ruling.
25:59
He released the jury of seven women and five men from jury
26:03
duty for the remainder of their lives because the case was so
26:08
deeply disturbing and draining for them all.
26:13
Before the couple was sentenced, the judge described the murder
26:16
as having a sadistic element, since the death of the young boy
26:20
had involved extensive psychological and physical
26:24
torture. The judge believed that Eric
26:26
Bukubi's actions had been influenced by his impairment or
26:31
mental illness, but also addressed how in no way did that
26:35
condone or justify the attacks of another human being, no
26:40
matter one's beliefs. However, the judge did not
26:44
accept the claims made by Magali Bamu's defense.
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He even pointed out how unlike Eric Bukubi, who genuinely
26:52
believed Christie was a witch, which at least provided some
26:56
explanation, some insight as to his atrocious actions, she did
27:02
it, and not once had she expressed any remorse or regret
27:07
over what she had put her own siblings through.
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Eric Bakubi and Magali Bamu both received a life sentences for
27:15
the acts of abuse that led to Christie's death.
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Eric must serve 30 years before he will be eligible for parole
27:22
and Magali, 25. Understandably, this punishment
27:26
sounds pretty lenient for the cruel, depraved murder of a
27:30
teenage boy. However, neither of the
27:33
defendants had a criminal record, and this is the United
27:37
Kingdom, which does not operate under the same harsh crime
27:40
control model as does the United States.
27:44
There is no capital punishment and sentences of life
27:48
incarceration without the possibility of parole are very
27:52
rare under the Human Rights Act. The death penalty has been fully
27:57
abolished in the United Kingdom since 1998.
28:01
In the United Kingdom, there is also no such category as first
28:05
degree murder. All murders are categorized as
28:08
the same and carry with it and mandatory life sentence.
28:12
However, life sentences do not equate to life without the
28:16
possibility of parole. Depending on the aggravating
28:19
factors surrounding the crime, the severity of the criminal
28:22
penalty can vary greatly. The starting point of the
28:25
sentencing guidelines for murder under English law begins at 15
28:29
years. This punishment increases to 25
28:33
years if a knife or some other kind of weapon has been
28:37
intentionally brought to the scene.
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This increases to 30 years if it involves A firearm.
28:44
As a side note for those of you who are not already aware,
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unlike the United States, it is very difficult to obtain a gun
28:52
or firearm in the United Kingdom due to the lack of availability.
28:56
The court reasons that anyone who has gone so far to obtain a
29:00
firearm to commit a murder has shown significant degrees of
29:05
premeditation and thus a higher degree of criminality.
29:09
Of all homicides in England and Wales, around 25% are committed
29:13
by an intimate partner, an ex partner, or a relative of the
29:17
victim. Since the majority of these
29:19
altercations occur at home using a knife or another kind of
29:23
weapon, which in all likelihood is already found at the scene,
29:27
such an offense would not qualify for a higher starting
29:31
point. In the case of Christy Bamboo's
29:33
murder, the starting point was thus 15 years.
29:37
Since several aggravating factors existed in the crime,
29:40
this added significant time to their punishment.
29:43
The court acknowledged that the victim was a vulnerable victim
29:47
since Christie Bamu was a child. The defendant's sentences were
29:51
also increased based on the fact that there was torture involved
29:54
in the murder. At the time of the defendant's
29:56
sentencing, Arthur's Law was unfortunately not in the
30:00
legislation. Arthur's Law was established
30:02
IN2022IN memory of Arthur Lapineho Hughes, 6 year old boy
30:06
in England who was severely beaten leading to his death.
30:10
It was a revolutionary statute in the UK which made the
30:14
premeditated killing of a child be given a mandatory life
30:18
sentence with no minimum term set or chance at early release.
30:24
A true life sentence before this law was put into effect.
30:29
This mandatory sentence was only applied to the murder of
30:33
children when it involved abduction or it had a sexual or
30:36
sadistic motivation under the laws.
30:39
At the time of the offenses committed by Eric Bakubi and
30:42
Magali Bamu, they received the most severe punishment allowed.
30:46
The prosecutor, Brian Altman for the Queen's Counsel, delivered a
30:50
statement from the family, which read and I quote, we will never
30:54
forget, but to put our lives back into sync, we must forgive.
30:59
Pierre and Jacqueline Bammu had not only lost their beloved son
31:02
Christie, but also their daughter Magalie and a man they
31:07
considered their son-in-law, both of whom they had loved and
31:10
trusted. Christie's father, Pierre Bammu,
31:13
told the press and quote, I feel betrayed.
31:17
To know that Christie's own sister Magalie did nothing to
31:19
save him makes the pain that much worse.
31:25
They hope the third child did not die in vain and that his
31:29
murder will raise awareness around the issue of children
31:33
being accused of witchcraft and as a result are being subjected
31:37
to abuse, neglect and even death.
31:42
It had been revealed during the trial that the death of Christy
31:46
Bommu wasn't the only incident the couple had been involved
31:49
with that included abuse and accusations of witchcraft.
31:55
In August 2008, a 19 year old friend named Naomi Yonga resided
32:00
with Eric Magali for about a month.
32:02
Similar to the visit with the Bammu children.
32:05
Everything was fine until Naomi was accused of being a witch.
32:09
Eric Bakubi would not allow anyone in the loft to eat for
32:14
three days. They all gathered together in
32:17
the living room, sleeping next to one another and praying most
32:21
of the night to release her threatened spiritual soul.
32:24
She spoke of how Eric Bukubi had grabbed her and slapped her
32:28
heart in the back. Naomi had long beautiful hair,
32:32
which was a source of great pride to her.
32:35
To free herself from the nightmare situation she found
32:39
herself in, she agreed to cut off her hair to release herself
32:44
from the witchcraft. Naomi was now free to leave the
32:48
couple's place. When she left, Eric, Bakubi told
32:53
Magali to get rid of anything Naomi had touched or used in any
32:58
way while she stayed there, from clothes to pots, pans and
33:03
plates. Eric and Magali, as well as the
33:06
entire Bamboo family, had relocated years earlier from the
33:10
Democratic Republic of Congo. The belief in kandoki, which is
33:14
the term there for witchcraft or sorcery, is widely spread,
33:18
commonly shared and some churches perform their own
33:21
exorcisms. In many countries in Africa,
33:24
this problem has grown into a crisis, according to a report by
33:29
UNICEF released in 2010. In the Congo capital, Kinshasa,
33:34
there were two oh oh oh oh children living on the streets
33:38
as a direct result of being accused of witchcraft and thus
33:43
were banished, according to a report by UNICEF or the United
33:48
Nations Children's Fund. In Bengui, the capital city of
33:52
the Central African Republic, and across many other bordering
33:55
countries, there is a strong correlation between children
33:58
accused of witchcraft and the increased numbers of Christian
34:03
revivalist churches. The pastors and traditional
34:06
healers within some of these churches have locked children
34:09
inside them, often without access to food or water.
34:14
They have sprayed them with gasoline, performed exorcisms,
34:18
and even forced them to drink poison.
34:22
What is interesting and important to understand is that
34:25
there is a direct relationship that is found between the
34:28
beliefs in Kandoki or witchcraft and colonialism.
34:32
The colonial forces in Africa were much resisted and their
34:36
authority denied by many. In order for colonialism to have
34:41
an impact on the communities, they used witchcraft and other
34:45
mystical beliefs within traditional African religions to
34:48
do 2 polar opposite things with the same desired goal in mind.
34:54
Some incorporated witchcraft into their Christian teachings
34:57
and others pointed to witchcraft as a belief to get rid of and
35:01
educate the community to condone their ruling.
35:04
In Belgian Congo, the colonial doctors attempted to prove to
35:08
the people that diseases had scientific evidence and were not
35:12
associated with witchcraft. These efforts were mainly
35:17
unsuccessful and instead the established laws and other
35:20
methods that changed the local world views on witchcraft.
35:25
In Pelos colonial times, the government has continued to
35:28
attempt to overhaul beliefs in witchcraft, specifically to stop
35:32
the hunting and execution of people accused of it.
35:37
There is an ongoing conflict between the legal system and
35:41
mass popular beliefs. Many individuals and communities
35:44
believe strongly in the presence of evil spiritual forces
35:48
existing in the form of witchcraft or sorcery.
35:51
It is believed that these dark forces possess children and
35:54
adults alike and manifest themselves in acts of evil,
35:58
tainting and causing death and destruction.
36:03
This can be evident in something as simple but catastrophic as
36:06
the withering of crops or the death of a newborn.
36:11
The state of Congo doesn't acknowledge witchcraft as a
36:13
criminal or civil offense. It can't be prosecuted because
36:17
in the eyes of the law, there is no evidence of its existence.
36:22
Since 2005, it has been illegal for a child to be called a witch
36:26
or accused of witchcraft in the Congo.
36:28
In 2009, the government made it a criminal offense with a
36:32
maximum penalty of three years in jail and fines equivalent to
36:36
a year's salary. Yet making the accusations of
36:39
witchcraft a serious criminal offense there hasn't seemed to
36:43
prevent its widespread occurrence.
36:46
This has created major conflict and tension between the legal
36:49
state and that of the people whose cultural beliefs and lived
36:53
experiences acknowledge and know the harms of witchcraft, what is
36:58
known as popular justice. Acts of vigilantism occur in
37:02
spaces which prevent the police from stopping it.
37:06
It is through popular justice that the threats and harms of
37:10
witchcraft are handled. The law will not bring justice
37:13
for the victims of witchcraft. There are no laws that protect
37:17
the people from the forces of witchcraft, and so the community
37:20
feels they have no other option but to deal with it as
37:24
vigilantes. Some communities feel betrayed
37:27
by the state because the law doesn't protect them from the
37:30
harms of witchcraft, and if they accuse someone or inflict
37:33
vengeance on them for causing harm, they are the ones that
37:37
will face criminal punishment. In a country like the Democratic
37:41
Republic of the Congo, where violence and murders are an
37:44
unfortunate part of everyday existence, such vigilante acts
37:49
can serve as a method of keeping order.
37:53
Due to this fear spreading propaganda fueled by fundamental
37:56
Christianity, this contemporary view of Kandoki has infected
38:00
many parts of Africa. There are some pastors in
38:04
Nigeria, such as the African Pentecostal pastor Helen
38:08
Okabayo, who have incorporated beliefs about witchcraft into
38:12
Christianity, which has led to many children, including as
38:16
young as infants, being branded as evil.
38:19
These children are blamed for any imaginable misfortune.
38:22
They're caregivers, relatives, or the community at large
38:25
suffers and are subsequently abandoned, mistreated, abused,
38:31
tortured, and even killed. Believers of Kondoki believe
38:35
that the child is capable of infecting others through
38:39
something as small as shared food or drink or simply being in
38:42
their presence. A child is used as a scapegoat
38:46
for stress, downfall, obstacles, and misfortune.
38:50
Whether it is financial, marital, illness, or even death,
38:55
the child becomes the target to exercise.
39:00
Some children are more vulnerable than others to being
39:02
seen as possessed. It could be a child who is
39:05
outspoken, rebellious, overly independent, or a child who has
39:10
nightmares. Who what's their bed?
39:12
Who is sick. Children who have physical and
39:16
mental disabilities or impairments are at an especially
39:19
high risk of being labeled as witches or evil.
39:23
So are children who identify as LGBTQ.
39:27
An exceptionally gifted child may also be perceived as being
39:31
skilled from witchcraft or possession.
39:34
These same dangerous beliefs around children being possessed
39:37
have spread to churches across London.
39:40
In the high majority of cases of faith abused children in the
39:43
United Kingdom, they were identified as families of first
39:47
or second generation immigrants. It was observed how these
39:50
families felt out of place, isolated from their relatives,
39:54
and even threatened by their new environment.
39:57
The study also found that their expectations of achieving a
40:01
higher quality of life in the United Kingdom versus their
40:03
homeland was often unfulfilled. This resulted in anxiety,
40:08
stress, and other mental health concerns that led to their
40:11
seeking A scapegoat for their misfortunes. faith-based abuse
40:15
and violence are not restricted to 1 country or one culture.
40:19
It is a global phenomenon whose prevalence and severity seems to
40:23
have only escalated in recent decades.
40:27
In the United Kingdom, no one has been prosecuted for accusing
40:30
a child of witchcraft, although it would theoretically fall
40:34
under the laws of child abuse. Since 2018, experts in the UK
40:38
have associated 14,000 social work assessments that fall under
40:43
faith-based abuse. These include cases of harm
40:47
caused by belief in witchcraft, spiritual or demonic possession,
40:51
the evil eye or jinns, takini kondoki, ritual or muti murders,
40:56
and the use of fear of the supernatural.
40:59
Over the last few decades, the incidents of ritualistic or
41:02
faith-based abuse have skyrocketed.
41:05
In the United Kingdom. 10 years before the killing of 15 year
41:09
old Kristi Bamu, another innocent child fell prey to
41:12
violence prompted by beliefs in witchcraft.
41:15
On February 25th, 2008, year old Victoria Cloumet was subjected
41:21
to horrific abuse by her great aunt Marie Therese Quo, who
41:25
brought her to the UK for a better education letter.
41:28
Victoria was labeled as a witch, the woman who had promised her
41:32
and her parents a better life in the United Kingdom subjected to
41:36
her extraordinary amounts of torture.
41:40
There have been multiple interactions Lower Victoria had
41:43
with social and healthcare services in the months leading
41:46
up to her murder. They had observed multiple cuts
41:49
on the little girl's body, but her aunt explained them away as
41:53
being self-inflicted childhood injuries and she remained in her
41:58
care. No actions were ever taken to
42:01
remove the child. Her great aunt, along with her
42:04
partner called John Manning, who were her guardians at the time,
42:08
believed Victoria was possessed by evil spirits and they brought
42:12
her to see a pastor. He performed an exorcism ritual
42:16
and forced the child to sleep in a bin bag inside an ice cold
42:22
bathroom. The 8 year old girl died of
42:24
hypothermia. Her body had been burned,
42:27
beaten, tied up and severely malnourished.
42:31
An autopsy showed she had been inflicted with 128 separate
42:36
injuries. It was one of the most shocking
42:40
and heinous cases of child abuse in the history of the UK.
42:45
Her horrific, tragic death would lead to an overhaul of the child
42:50
welfare system. Another child homicide case
42:53
which is believed to be associated with faith-based
42:55
abuse was the headless torso of a little boy that was found
43:00
thrown in the Thames River in 2001.
43:03
The child was never identified and is only referred to as Adam.
43:09
Another incident occurred in 2005 to a young girl who was
43:13
living with her mother's distant relative in London.
43:16
She was accused of being a witch by another child in the home.
43:19
The three adults in the household believed this to be
43:22
true. They starved the child, beat her
43:26
and made cuts to her chest to free the devil from her body.
43:31
At one point the little girl was intentionally drowned.
43:35
Thankfully she was saved in time by the British police who had
43:40
suspected that she was being abused.
43:43
That same year, child services in London had 18 cases of abuse
43:47
involving children being accused of witchcraft or demonic
43:51
possession. In 2025, the revolutionary film
43:55
Kandoki Witch Boy was released that sought to shed much needed
44:01
light and awareness upon the crisis of faith abused child
44:06
victims. The stories about modish Yimby,
44:10
now 33 years old, who survived an exorcism performed on him as
44:14
a child. Yimby, similar to Victoria, was
44:17
only 8 years old when his father sent him to live with relatives
44:21
in the UK from his homeland of the Democratic Republic for the
44:24
Congo. His mother had sadly died and
44:28
his father wanted him to have the best education and life
44:32
possible. Yambi grew up in north London
44:34
with his relatives, who accused him of being a witch.
44:38
The relatives faced health and financial hardships and they
44:41
used Yambi as a scapegoat for their misfortunes.
44:45
Fortunately, Yambi was not physically harmed and unlike
44:49
Victoria, social services intervened when his extended
44:53
family in the UK wanted to send him back to the Congo to be
44:58
exercised. Authorities pulled him out of
45:00
the home and placed him with a loving and supportive foster
45:03
mother. Yambi was inspired by his own
45:06
experience as a youth to provide knowledge, raise awareness and
45:10
offer support and resources to children who are now being faced
45:14
with these same accusations. As in many crimes, especially of
45:18
a highly sensitive nature like child abuse, the existence and
45:23
danger of faith-based abuse must be openly addressed to raise
45:27
awareness and to encourage individuals, especially victims,
45:32
to seek help. Such abuse cases are not always
45:35
obvious or easy to identify. That is the goal that has been
45:39
established by Project Violet in a collaborative effort, the
45:44
Metropolitan Police of London. Professionals, communities and
45:48
faith leaders are working to develop strategies of prevention
45:52
and ways to spread education around the issue.
45:56
The research indicates that children who live with non
45:59
biological parents, foster parents and other relatives are
46:02
at the highest risk of faith-based abuse.
46:06
When a caretaker or relative attempts to exercise the accused
46:11
child on their own, it is commonly done in the home and it
46:14
can involve a wide range of extreme actions including abuse
46:18
and torture. These attempts to rid the child
46:21
of the dark spiritual forces may include isolation, sleep
46:25
deprivation, forced praying all night long, starvation, beating,
46:29
burning, cutting and stabbing the child.
46:33
When there are other children present in the household, they
46:36
are often very well taken care of, in sharp contrast to the
46:41
child accused of being a witch. These other children will
46:44
usually be kept away from the scapegoat so they can't be
46:48
infected too. The adults will likely
46:51
manipulate and program the other children to believe that the
46:55
accused child is different and even encourage them to
46:59
participate in the abuse. Studies show that children who
47:02
are labeled as witches and accused of being possessed also
47:06
face a greater likelihood of being trafficked.
47:10
They are forced to work in servitude, including domestic
47:13
labor and sexual servitude. This is such a horrible and
47:17
strange case, especially when you consider that the threat of
47:21
severe abuse, torture, and death to children who are accused of
47:26
witchcraft or some other kind of spiritual possession is real and
47:32
increasing in frequency. Sharing Christie Bamu's tragic
47:36
story is so important. Sometimes it's easy to feel
47:40
detached from such cases of violence that occur in foreign
47:45
nations, lands in places most of us have trouble connecting with
47:50
because we can't relate to their life experiences.
47:55
When such a case is exposed in the Western world, it helps
48:00
spread education and raise awareness of the problem.
48:06
When it's a little closer to what we know, people tend to
48:11
open their eyes, listen a little more closely, and become
48:17
committed to finding a solution to this darkness.
48:25
Thank you so much for listening to the tragic, horrific story of
48:31
Christie Bamu. I wanted to share with all of
48:35
you something really exciting. We have now reached 55
48:41
countries. Shades of Murder may still be a
48:45
small and humble little show, but our global reach is amazing
48:52
and something worth celebrating. I sincerely thank each one of
48:57
you for listening in whatever country you may be in.
49:03
May you all have the most beautiful and tranquil of
49:07
holiday seasons. I can't wait to share news
49:09
stories with you in 2026. Until next time, stay safe and
49:17
watch over Shades of Murder happening in the streets next
49:23
door, especially inside your own home.
49:29
Shades of Murder is created, researched, written and edited
49:33
by Lita Caldwell. Original music stranger composed
49:39
by Stereo Code.