Demons in Hoima?

Demons in Hoima?
Saturday, 9th February, 2008
The Rev. Geofrey Matata prays for Murubya. THE land wrangles in Hoima District have taken on a new dimension. Pupils are suspected to have suffered a demonic attack and their academic future hangs in the balance. Residents are accusing a prominent landowner of provoking the demons. Pascal Kwesiga visited Hoima and now writes. AS the saying goes, when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. Juliet Katusabe and Lillian Kwikiriza had just begun the new school term last week when they were hit by severe headaches. Then came sharp pain in their stomachs. And then, darkness. Residents believe the children were attacked by demons, resulting from the land wrangles in Hoima District. School officials say the girls were among many pupils hit by a demonic attack. It began when one girl started barking like a dog. Then, others started shouting and pressing their stomachs, saying they felt a burning sensation in their stomachs. Children, both boys and girls, dashed out of their classes. Many were crying. Some fell to the ground and crawled. Others threw stones at people who were rushing to the scene. Adults tied up the affected children and took them to church, where the Rev. Geofrey Matata prayed for them. Eventually, the children got well. Standing outside Kiziranfumbi Church of Uganda, the two soft-spoken P4 classmates have no memory of what happened last Monday at Sir Tito Winyi Primary School in Hoima. “I think the demons have destroyed our children,” says Flora Nyamaizi, the mother of Katusabe and Kwikiriza. Whether the children were attacked by demons or merely suffered hysteria, the root cause is yet to be established. For several years, there have been land disputes in Hoima that have ruined longstanding relationships, and now threaten the school. On one side of the disputes is Lawrence Murubya, one of the area’s prominent residents and landowners. People in Kiziranfumbi town said during the attack some children shouted Murubya’s name: “We want to go to Lawrence Murubya, we want to eat the meat he has brought for us before we die of hunger.” Several people allege Murubya wants to sacrifice their children to his gods so that he can get rich. “The gods are demanding human sacrifices before they give him wealth,” says John Tugume Katuramu, the deputy head teacher of the school. Murubya, who came out of hiding for an exclusive interview, denies the accusations. He says his family of 24, which includes 10 grown sons, eight daughters and a number of grandchildren who live on 40 acres just outside town, is living in fear because of death threats against them. “We are going to die innocently. I can’t bewitch children. I have no grudge against them nor the school,” he says. A long-time resident of Kiziranfumbi, Murubya says there were few people in the town when he settled there. “My only neighbours were baboons,” he recalls, adding that as more people moved into the town, demand for land increased. Murubya says the allegations were peddled by his neighbours, who want to grab his land. One of his neighbours, John Bagonza, says Murubya is encroaching on other people’s land. “I have stayed with him since childhood. He used to be a good man, but has turned to witchcraft to get rich,” says Bagonza. “Murubya has been taming gods, but they now want to eat. Instead of giving them one of his children, he has turned them on ours.” It is hard to tell who is right, but what is clear is that Murubya has paid a high price for land disputes. A few years ago, members of the local Church of Uganda accused Murubya of allowing the sale of a piece of land they say belonged to the school. At that time, he was the chairman of the school’s management committee. Murubya, however, denies involvement in the transaction: “The land was sold before I was appointed chairman of the school management committee.” Murubya, who is Catholic, subsequently became involved in a land dispute with his own church, which accused him of selling its land. The case went to court and Murubya won, but the church suspended him as catechist, a position he had held for 35 years. As old and new feuds continue, the bitterness is affecting Kiziranfumbi’s children. According to the deputy head teacher, a total of 970 pupils must fit into four newly-constructed blocks, each with two classrooms. The school has other buildings, but with missing roofs and other problems, they cannot be used. Classes are crowded and children are forced to sit close to the blackboard, leaving teachers with little space. With just 17 teachers, the school has to divide classes into two and three streams, with up to 75 pupils per stream. The children walk long distances to get to the school. Some start the journey as early as 5:00am. Children are required to arrive at school at 7:30am, sweep their classrooms and clean the compound. Lessons begin at 8:00am. The children return home at 5:00pm, where domestic chores like cooking and fetching water await them. Last week’s attack was not the first. Abdallah Wandera, a teacher at the school, says the attacks started last term in the middle class, and later spread to all classes. “When the children are at their homes, they are okay, but when they come to school, demons attack them,” he said. After Monday’s attack, the district education officer, James Isoke, ordered the school to close while school leaders consult with the Ministry of Education and Sports. One option being considered is to transfer about 40 children to another school. “Our children are being tormented on a daily basis, and this is a threat to Universal Primary Education,” says Isoke. Meanwhile, some parents are considering taking their children to other schools. The children want to continue studying, but are afraid. Mildred Nsimire, 12, a P4 pupil, says she would consider changing schools, but the nearest alternative is far away: “If my parents were rich, they would take me to town schools. Therefore, I have to stay here or drop out if the demons persist.” What’s the way forward? Murubya says after a similar attack last term, he went to the school, laid his hands on the children and sprinkled water on them in an attempt to make the demons go away. He says he would be willing to do so again if his feuding neighbours, including Bagonza, would join hands with him. Bagonza says he would be willing to do so if Murubya came out of hiding. As the two men remain undecided on when to meet and do the needful, the children’s academic future hangs in the balance.