What is a Muti ritual?
The detectives investigating the murder of a young boy whose torso was found floating in the Thames today arrested 21 suspected people smugglers who may be linked to his death. Police believe that the unknown victim – who they have named Adam – had been mutilated in a ritualistic sacrifice linked to ancient fertility rites, possibly by the African black magic “muti” cult. This type of witchcraft is prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, where Adam is thought to be from. Police suspect the killers may have been practising a rare variant of ‘muti’. Muti killers tend to remove the genitals, breasts and extremities of their victims, as their screams release the ‘magic’ of the internal organs for the potions, but do not dismember their victims. British detectives believe the cult is being imported and its members are preying on vulnerable African children – like Adam – who are smuggled into this country on false documents, unknown to the authorities.
