Accused Witch Burned Alive: Kepari Leniata Allegedly Killed Boy Using Sorcery

Accused of being a witch, a twenty-year-old mother of two was burned alive in Papua New Guinea on Wednesday.

Accused witch burned alive in Papua New Guinea

The woman, identified as Kepari Leniata, allegedly killed a six-year-old boy with magic. She was tortured by the villagers before thrown on a fire of burning tyres.

The police were unable to intervene as they were outnumbered by the townspeople. A fire truck that came out to extinguish the fire was also chased away.

The horrendous scene happened on Wednesday morning in Mount Hagen city in the Western Highlands, where many believe that witchcraft exists and sorcery is used to kill enemies.

Leniata was one of three women accused of practicing witchcraft and interrogated by the attackers. She reportedly admitted in using sorcery in killing the boy, who died after being hospitalized with stomach and chest pains a day before.

The brutal murder has been condemned by the nation's prime minister and diplomatic observers.

"No one commits such a despicable act in the society that all of us, including Kepari, belong to," Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said in a statement. "Barbaric killings connected with alleged sorcery. Violence against women because of this belief that sorcery kills. These are becoming all too common in certain parts of the country. It is reprehensible that women, the old and the weak in our society should be targeted for alleged sorcery or wrongs that they actually have nothing to do with."

The prime minister said he had instructed police to use all available manpower to bring the killers to justice.