After stopping by their office and speaking to the staff, another radio station in Soroti called Veritas was kind enough to offer the Gideon Foundation radio time. The purpose of this 3rd visit to a radio station was to not only continue the discussion we started about human sacrifice in Speaking on the Radio, Part II, but to direct the questions towards specific groups of people (ie police officers, witchdoctors, district officials, etc). So, on August 3, 2011, Dorothy Akol, chief volunteer at the Gideon Foundation, and I were on the radio again, but this time from 3-4 pm. We were able to get through some of the questions but we encountered many problems during this radio show including a poor telephone reception and a very limited time to speak with the advertisements. This was also our first time with this radio host and so the show didn’t flow as smoothly as it had for us during our previous shows. But we were able to get through about half of the script. We were able to ask the radio listeners about a handful of questions but unfortunately most of the people who had a response couldn’t get through due to the telephone reception. But regardles the Gideon Foundation was on another radio station and during an afternoon time.

The next day, the radio station that we had spoken on previously, Delta FM, called and offered the Gideon Foundation more radio time. So on August 5, 2011, Dorothy and I were on the radio again from 8-9 pm with the radio host, the Peacemaker. The show went really well and the Peacemaker even played songs concerning human sacrifice during the show as well. Here is the script that we used:

Gideon Radio Script III-Delta

We were only able to get through about half of the questions so Delta FM was kind enough to offer us even more radio time a few days later. So on August 9, 2011, Dorothy and I were on the radio again to finish the script.

We received many, many calls during both of the shows on Delta FM. What stood out for me was that we also received a call from someone who is for human sacrifice and defended his position by saying its in the Bible in the story of Abraham. But then someone else called in right after him and basically said that Abraham didn’t sacrifice his son and that God was testing Abraham’s faith. Someone else called in and suggested that the Gideon Foundation sue the government because witchdcotors do have to register to practice. It was a very lively discussion and Dorothy ended the show by giving tips on preventing human sacrifice and by again explaining what the purpose and activities of the Gideon Foundation.

The next day, the radio host, the Peacemaker, and the program manager of Delta FM, David Okurut, spoke with Dorothy and myself about having , the Gideon Foundation speak on the radio on a continual basis; to make it part of their programming. They said that they had received many phone calls regarding the show, even some from people who had just been affected by human sacrifice. They think that a show like this could do many things in including building the confidence and trust of people in Gideon, encouraging affected families, serving as an outlet for people to release information and serving a forum for people to question the practice of human sacrifice. They hope that these talk shows will become a model and will reach a level.

But, the issue in the Gideon Foundation continuing these talk shows is money. Delta FM had been kind enough to offer the Gideon Foundaiton free radio time thus far but of course this cannot continue on a weekly or bi-weekly basis as the costs to the conduct the radio shows (electricity, radio host fees, etc) would be too much. One 60 minute radio show costs 400,000 Ugandan Shillings which currently amounts to about $142 (US).

Photo: David Okurut, me, the Peacemaker and Dorothy

I think that murals created and painted by students from that community will not only convey the message but it will also serve as a beneficial opportunity for the students.

After I mentioned to one of the volunteers of the Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice how I organized students to paint a mural against female genital mutilation as a Peace Corps Volunteers in Mali, we were then making plans for the Gideon Foundation to do a mural project with students. The Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice is currently located within a secondary school in Soroti, Uganda. We then explained that drawing contest at the end of a session that the Gideon Foundation held with students about human sacrifice.

Of course, the Gideon Foundation volunteers and I consulted with the art teacher at the school, who also happens to be the head schoolmaster, Madame Teddie Namakula. We consulted with her about the needed supplies, where the murals should be painted and asked for her support. The Advocacy Project was generous enough to give all of the needed funds to paint 2 murals, which amounted to $40.

We received 11 drawings from students:

The volunteers of the Gideon Foundation along with Madame Teddie Namakula, headmaster of the school who also happens to be an art teacher, picked 2 winning drawings:

Photo: Drawing winner 1

Photo: Drawing winner 2

In the beginning of this project there was a lot of skepticism about whether students could paint a mural well. Some asked why I wasn’t hiring a professional painter. But in the end, after the murals were finished, all of that skepticism went away and everyone was very happy with the students and the murals. In fact, when the students began painting the first mural crowds would sometimes form to watch them paint:

Photo: Crowd watching students paint mural 1

What really stood out about this project for me was the support the Gideon Foundation volunteers and I received from Madame Namakula. She was instantly very supportive of the project and spent an entire day guiding students on drawing and mixing paints. She used this as an opportunity to teach her students. She also knew exactly when to offer guidance and also when to let the students work on their own. Madame Namakula also expressed that this was the first time that these students had ever worked with paints and that they really enjoyed it:

Photo: Madame Teddie Namakula, Head Schoolmaster and Art Teacher at Soroti Central Secondary School

Photo: Students and Madame Namakula working on mural 1

Photo: Students working on mural 2

After about 2 days, both of the murals were completed:

Photo: Mural 1 (is on the front outside walls of an office building)

Photo: Mural 2 (located within the main hall for students)

The Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice would very much like to continue holding these mural painting contests against child sacrifice but with schools throughout Uganda. They would first like to start with schools in Soroti, both primary and secondary, and then spread to other districts. These mural painting contests would of course be tied into a session with students about human sacrifice by the volunteers of the Gideon Foundation. The issue is then becomes funding as the Gideon Foundation currently has no funding source.

The Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice is currently located in the same courtyard as a secondary school in Soroti, Uganda. So I suggested that the Gideon Foundation speak to the students about human sacrifice to see if any of them would be interested in starting a student group. There is also a student group in Kampala that advocates against human sacrifice. Some of the students in this group are featured in the documentary, SACRIFICED. I thought that it would be good if the Gideon Foundation speak to students not only because their office is located within the courtyard of a school but also to see if anything could come out of it whether it be a student group or a new project idea to advocate against human sacrifice.

So on July 12, 2011, the Gideon Foundation volunteers and I spoke to students at Soroti Central Secondary School about human sacrifice and the work of the Gideon Foundation. The outline to the presentation is here:

Gideon Foundation Secondary School Presentation Outline

The students, about over 50 students, were asked discussion questions about their knowledge of human sacrifice and we also played the documentary, SACRIFICED to the students using my laptop. We then broke the students up into groups and asked them to discuss if and what they would like to do to stop human sacrifice. Each group picked a group leader and then each of these group leaders presented their group’s findings: (will post link to video of these presentations soon)

I was very interested in the responses of these students in particular because the head of the late Among was found over a fence that is just steps away from the school’s courtyard. Also one of the founder’s of the school is Santos Labeja who lost his son to child sacrifice.

What stood out for me from this presentation were the students who were really interested and passionate about trying to advocate against human sacrifice. These student leaders could really help to motivate other students to advocate against human sacrifice and could also help the Gideon Foundation to further its outreach.

We passed around a sign-up sheet for students who were interested in forming a student group and many students signed up, over 40. The Gideon Foundation is planning to meet again with these interested students at the beginning of the next school year since vacation has started for students now.

At the end of the presentation we explained how the Gideon Foundation is holding a drawing contest where students can submit a drawing against child sacrifice. The student(s) of the winning design will then have the opportunity to paint his/her design on a wall(s) at the school. The other students who submitted designs would then have the opportunity to help this student to complete his/her mural. I had completed a project like this when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali but there I had students draw a design against female genital mutilation (FGM). The mural that the students had painted against FGM was very well-received and is still there today.

The Gideon Foundation volunteers plan to continue speaking to schools and would like to also include primary schools as well. They would first like to target all of the schools in Soroti and then expand to other districts. They would also like to continue holding the mural painting contests with the schools that they present at but then the issue then becomes money to buy the materials to paint these murals and then transportation costs to visit these schools as the Gideon Foundation currently has no funding source. The cost to paint 1 mural amounts to about 20 US dollars.

I will write about the results of the drawing contest and the subsequent painting of 2 murals against child sacrifice in my next blog or so.

Photo 1: Showing the documentary, SACRIFICED to students using my laptop

Photo 2: Gideon Foundation volunteer, Esther Ocom speaking to students

Photo 3: Students during the presentation

Photo 4: Students working in groups

Photo 5: Gideon Foundation volunteer, Dorothy Akol, presenting to students

The radio station in Soroti that Dorothy and myself had previously spoken on, Delta FM, was gracious enough to give us free radio time again. But the purpose of this second visit was more to start a dialoge about human sacrifice on top of reintroducing the Gideon Foundation and its efforts to end human sacrifice to radio listeners. The Gideon Foundation volunteers and I decided that a way we could start a dialogue with radio listeners is by having me share what I have learned about human sacrifice through the interviews that we have conducted with 9 victims/survivors of human sacrifice, district officials, police officers, etc. So on July 12, 2011, Dorothy and I spoke on the radio again and this time it was at night from 8-9 pm.

The radio host, called the Peacemaker, really liked what we were trying to convey and so during the entire show he did not run any commercials and in fact he gave us extra time. So Dorothy and I were on the radio for over an hour and a half. The show went very well and there were many responses to each of the questions that I asked, but unfortunately due to time we could only take 3-5 calls per question. I would say the question in English and then Dorothy would translate it into one of the local languages in Soroti, Ateso.

But speaking on the radio in a country with frequent power outages, if there is electricity, and that also does not have stellar telephone reception throughout the entire country, resulted in many callers not being able to get through. Then some of the callers who were lucky enough to get through had their phone calls cut off in the middle of their response either because of the telephone reception or because they ran out of phone credit. Also, unfortunately the electricity had gone out shortly before Dorothy and I went on the radio. When the electricity came back on minutes before 8 pm, the person who was supposed to switch the recording button back on failed to do so. So I was not able to get a recording of the show but I do have the script that I had wrote up and that we used for the show. I wrote up the script and then the Gideon Foundation volunteers and I edited it together:

Gideon Radio Script II-Delta

But we received phone calls from throughout the district of Soroti. Most of the responses were that the devil is what drives people to carry-out human sacrifice; that politicians and wealthy businessmen practice human sacrifice out of fear of losing their wealth and power; that the culprits should be killed or receive long prison sentences . . . one caller spoke of how radio stations need to stop running advertisements for witchdoctors, as some of them do. Another one of the phone calls was from a man who was part of a rural farmer’s association and he asked if the Gideon Foundation could come and speak to this association about human sacrifice because they would like to do something as well. He then gave us his phone number and the Gideon Foundation is currently seeing if and how they can speak to this association.

During the show I again gave out the phone number to the executive director of the Gideon Foundation, Santos Labeja, and he received about 12 phone calls. But most of these phone calls were just people who were seeing if the number was real. There was one phone call from a man who did know of some cases of human sacrifice in his community and we are currently speaking with this person.

I was really happy with how many people had called in and in fact, as we were leaving, people were still calling the show. But another thing that makes speaking on the radio difficult, well for me at least, is language. There are many languages spoken here in Uganda and Soroti is no exception. There were some listeners who didn’t know English, others who didn’t know Ateso . . . also speaking in English, with my particular accent, and then having someone else translate the message into Ateso is I’m sure tiresome. I also was not able to understand the responses in all of their entirety as they spoke in either Ateso or another local language. The radio announcer would summarize the response for me in English but there were some callers who were more comfortable giving their response in a language that neither the radio announcer nor Dorothy knew so there were some responses where no one really knew what was said.

I was also surprised with the positivity behind the responses. All of the responses were encouraging the Gideon Foundation to continue and thanking Dorothy and myself for speaking on the radio about this topic. I say surprised because Santos and Leah Labeja have spoken on the radio against human sacrifice before and they were sometimes met with callers who were not very supportive and would accuse them of lying.

We plan on speaking on the radio once more and are currently inquiring if Delta FM or another radio station in Soroti would be kind enough to give us radio time.

Photo: Radio host, the Peacemaker, Dorothy and myself

Santos and Leah Labeja, Founders

Santos and Leah Labeja decided to start the Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice after their son, Gideon, was murdered in an act of child sacrifice in 2006. Since 2007, the Gideon Foundation has created awareness about the act of human sacrifice and has advocated against the act, both on national and international levels. Santos and Leah Labeja decided to start the Gideon Foundation not only to put an end to the practice of human sacrifice but to help affected families by offering them psycho-social support and ensuring that their human rights are protected. They are both very much active forces within the organization with Santos Labeja serving as the executive director and Leah Labeja serving more as an advisor.

They are very aware, active and motivated people who had their world shaken when the life of their only son was taken in such a way and right at their very doorstep. Then to further add to their anguish the killer of their son was eventually released. They faced unimaginable hardships after their loss not only in the lack of justice but also in the negative and accusatory reactions by some when the Labejas would speak out against human sacrifice. The Labejas also faced confrontation and negativity in trying to start an organization that is dedicated to stopping human sacrifice. They made a conscious decision to stand up and to not hide their unimaginable loss. The Labejas decided to not suffer alone and they are dedicated to ensuring that other affected families do not have to either.

They are people who are very much respected in Uganda and who are also very protective of the information they release in regards to their lives and of the late Gideon. Thus establishing an organization under the name of their late son and that is everyday fighting against human sacrifice was and continues to be a very big undertaking for them. The Labejas have enlisted the support from the following persons to help them in implementing the goals of the Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice:

Dorothy Akol, Chief Volunteer Social Worker

Dorothy is from Serere, Uganda, which is a community within the district of Soroti. She is self-motivated, a fearless multi-tasker and is a natural leader. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in development studies and has a certificate in administrative law. Dorothy has volunteered with many organizations including the Soroti local government and was a teacher at Kumi University in Uganda. Currently she works in the livelihoods department at Community Care Services, a non-profit organization co-founded by Santos Labeja. She was personally asked by Santos and Leah Labeja to be the office manager of the Gideon Foundation in 2010 and so she divides her time between Community Care Services and the Gideon Foundation. When asked why she decided to volunteer with the Gideon Foundation, Dorothy explains that its because:

“it is the responsibility of all Ugandans and all people that love the human race. Human sacrifice is a barbaric and inhumane act that needs to be stopped. In fact it is a national danger because it threatens the entire nation due to its ferocity and frequency. But unfortunately, and to little surprise from myself, there is little going on to try and fight this barbaric act. In Uganda, the only one local NGO that is fighting against human sacrifice is the Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice. The Gideon Foundation is trying to fight human sacrifice and to support affected families even with the many limitations it faces due to a lack of funding. It is alarming that human sacrifice exists in Uganda. I call upon my fellow Ugandans as well as the entire global community to come together with the Gideon Foundation so that we can collectively end this inhumane act”.

Stella Ibwalingate, Volunteer Social Worker

Stella is orignally from the district of Katakwi in Uganda and holds a Bachelor’s degree in social work and social administration along with a certificate in community mobilization. She is a very empathetic and down to earth person who is not afraid to try a new idea. Stella loves working with communities. Throughout her life experiences, Stella has seen the trauma that families experience due to human sacrifice and this is what makes her committeed to the Gideon Foundation’s long-term vision of ending human sacrifice in Uganda. She has worked for Community Care Services for over 5 years now in the livelihoods department along with Dorothy and so she also juggles her time between her work for Community Care Services and the Gideon Foundation. Stella was also asked by Santos and Leah Labeja to help them to implement the goals of the Gideon Foundation. She joined the Gideon Foundation not only because she has seen the detrimental effects of human sacrifice but also because she loves working with communities. Stella believes that:

“human sacrifice is a silly act practiced here in Uganda. The loss of a loved one to human sacrifice is such a nasty act, and having to bury a loved one without all of his/her body parts, has left families with severe psychological trauma. I’ve heard of human sacrifice ever since I was a little girl and it still continues today. I thank God for the opportunity to volunteer and become a part of the mission of the Gideon Foundation-the opportunity to save the lives of innocent people. There is no other organization whose mission concerns fighting this inhumane act”.

Esther Ocom, Volunteer Social Worker

Esther is originally from Gulu, Uganda and holds a Bachelor’s degree in social work and social administration. She is the newest volunteer to the Gideon Foundation and joined the team after hearing Dorothy and myself speak on the radio. Esther has a wide array of experience in community empowerment, networking and advocacy, human rights protections, among many others. She has worked with rural communities for the last 7 years empowering and supporting different groups of vulnerable children, youth, women and families. Esther posesses a great deal of fortitude, has the gift of a crtical eye and always has the long-term vision at mind. Esther believes that:

“child sacrifice is one of the most painful acts of abuse and it has been ignored by many charity service providers. Most of these organizations concentrate on supporting the visible groups of vulnerable communities with less consideration on the cause of their vulnerability. For a number of reasons, child sacrifice has been increasing among communities, yet there has been no clear attempt to solve the problem, except for the Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice. As an activist against child abuse, I saw the need to join this organization and to become a part of this team to advocate for the close of this ignored gap”.

On June 13, 2011, we (myself, Dorothy and Stella, 2 volunteers at the Gideon Foundation) interviewed a woman named Anna. She is the aunt of Esther Among, a 15 year old girl who was raped, murdered and beheaded in 2009. Anna had actually raised Among from when she was a very young girl and is a medical technologist at a very busy clinic in Soroti at which her husband is a doctor. This family had actually stopped granting interviews some time after the murder occurred but they granted us permission mostly because they are friends with Santos Labeja, the executive director of the Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice.

Among was a 15 year old girl who was staying at a Catholic girl’s hostel/boarding school in Soroti. One night in February 2009 soemone came to the hostel to get Among and she left with them. It has been said that this person was her boyfriend, but regardless it was someone that she trusted. She never returned. Her headless body was then found in a grassy area in Soroti. Her body was found quickly because one of the persons who murdered Among had dropped his cell phone on her body. So after the murder, the person who wanted Among’s head was calling this person to arrange the exchange. Students heard this cell phone ringing in the bushes and then alerted others.

Anna heard that a body was found without a head but initially she didn’t think much of it since Among was presumably safe at the boarding school. But then she was called to go and identify Among’s body.

Anna then went to the boarding school where Among was staying to find out what happened. But when she tried to talk to students, the matrone, etc, people refused to speak with her. After pleading with students it was only then that some students confided in her that a visitor came late at night to get Among.

A few days before we interviewed Anna, we stopped by this boarding school to speak to the head matrone there. When asked what happened she said that Among’s mother had come to get her on Sunday and that Among never came back. This has resulted in a lot of rumors being spread that Among’s mother was involved in the murder. After Among’s death, her mother left Soroti. During the interview, Anna expressed how she believes that the head matrone told the students not to speak to her and to say that it was Among’s mother who came to get her to try and cover up the fact that Among was allowed to leave the boarding school at night with a boy.

Anna and her family prayed and prayed for Among’s head to be found.

Her head was later found in Soroti, it was thrown behind the cement fence of a house. The story is that Among’s boyfriend, along with others, raped her and then cut off her head. The boys were to bring Among’s head to a witchdoctor in Sudan for money. But the boys had trouble transporting the head to Sudan and so they threw Among’s head over the fence.

Among’s family had her head sewn back onto her body and then buried her.

The police did track down Among’s murderers with help from the cell phone that was found on Among’s body. When the police went to the house of one of the suspects, they found him on the roof trying to escape, there was also a blood stain and a knife in his room.

But all of the suspects were eventually released. In fact the are all said to still live in Soroti. Anna hears stories of them out drinking and still traveling together. She states that this is what makes Among’s murder so haunting, that someone can do something like this and be freed due to “lack of evidence” when there was more than enough evidence. She says that when she went back to the police station that the file for Among’s murder was empty.

(will post link to the video of the interview here soon)

One June 10, 2011, I, along with Dorothy and Stella (the 2 volunteer social workers at the Gideon Foundation) visited the Police Department for the district of Soroti in Uganda. The main purpose of this pre-arranged visit was to interview the police officer whose position involves community welfare and human rights cases; to see how he/she handles child sacrifice and the steps the police take to try and solve these cases. Some of the key points from the interview with this officer were that:

-When asked how the police differentiate between murder and child sacrifice; this officer said that murder is when someone’s life can be taken and it may not be for ritual purposes and that child sacrifice is murder but for the purpose of performing a ritual or function.
-Issues of child sacrifice really came into the limelight in 2000 in Uganda; that is when they started to get these stories more openly.
-When asked if people and organizations can access the data that the police hold on human rituals the officer said yes, that if they just come and ask that they will obey them.
-The police collect data on child sacrifice when they encounter a case, they have never carried a search; it is only through the cases that are brought to them.
-In regards to preventing child sacrifice, the officer said that they carry out sensitization by going to villages, speaking on the radio and by going to community meetings. But that these activities are few and limited due to a lack of resources.
-Child sacrifice exists for many reasons includes a quest for wealth, looming poverty, family conflicts which result in a child being murdered and sacrificed to solve a grudge.
-The problem of child sacrifice persists because of poverty; when a neighbor sees another neighbor developing he/she wants that wealth.
-Trainings on human rituals and how to handle these crimes are not included in the syllabus of the trainings for police officers; however some organizations like Lawyers Without Borders had once provided police officers with some training on this issue.
-Some of the challenges they’ve encountered in trying to solve a case of child sacrifice include a lack of skills on how to investigate child sacrifice, ignorance by the community which makes police officers struggle when they try and sensitize them and outdated cultures.
-When I mentioned what the police does to apprehend the perpetrators who are set free due to corruption, the officer mentioned that corruption is an issue as well along with people not giving them evidence.
-When asked what the police do to prevent corruption, the officer responded that they try to sensitize the public and it and that it is the duty of every citizen to fight corruption. The officer also mentioned that they have prosecuted officers.
-When asked if and how the Gideon Foundation and the police can work togehter, the officer said yes and they they need help in sensitizing the community and officers.

I also asked the officer if we could be given any data, statistics, or any other documents that they have on human rituals and the officer said yes and to come back on June 14th to retrieve the documents. This officer was very friendly and even introduced us to the other officers and so we had an opportunity to speak with them as well. Some of the key points from the interviews with the other officers:

-One of the reasons that child sacrifice persists because of child neglect; parents play a part.
-One of the challenges the police face is that a child can be murdered in Western Ugandan and then his/her body parts are transported to an area like Soroti (Eastern Uganda) and thus sometimes these acts can go unnoticed.
-Child sacrifice happens every once in awhile in Soroti and is rarely reported but is very rampant in the central regions of Uganda.
-One way to prevent child sacrifice is to talk to the public about it.

Every officer we spoke to at the Soroti police station said that is was just fine that we have a copy of the information that they had on human rituals in Soroti. But when we we returned to the police station to retrieve the promised information things were different. The officer was less friendly and said that police station had sent all the documents they had on human rituals to the Director of Public Prosecutions in Kampala. I later found out that there is a Director of Public Prosecutions office in each district in Uganda, in fact there is an office just steps away from the police station in Soroti. When asked for the phone number to the Office of Public Prosecutions, this officer said that the police station does not have it. He then handed me a piece a paper on which he had drawn a chart. The chart contained a little information about Soroti’s most recent case of child sacrifice, a girl named Among, whom I will write about in my next blog. The chart contained a sentence of information on the case that I could find in any Ugandan newspaper.

It seemed that this officer wanted money in order to release any information or that he didn’t want us to find out something.

We thanked the officer and left as we didn’t want to burn any bridges and risk hindering the work of the Gideon Foundation.

Photo: the late Francis

On June 11, 2011, Dorothy and I interviewed a family who lost their little boy to child sacrifice in the village of Serere, which is located right outside of Soroti. I conducted the interview while Dorothy translated as the family was more familiar with the local language, Atesso. Both Dorothy and her husband Fred are from Serere and Fred was visiting home for other business so I joined in on the ride as this family lives only a few feet away from the house of Fred’s family. The persons we interviewed were the grandfather, grandmother and aunt of the person who was murdered.

The boy’s name was Francis and he was 4 years old when he was kidnapped, murdered and sacrificed in 2007. On the day we visited them, the mother of Francis had just left the compound to run an errand but it was the grandparents who really looked after him. The family explained how Francis was playing in his compound with his little brother. The grandfather was out in the fields but was not too far away. The grandmother had just left for church. They said that before Francis went missing they could hear him laughing and that it was the kind of laugh that was caused by someone else. Thus they think that the man was playing was hiding in the fields and was playing with Francis from afar. He then lured Francis away using peanuts. Francis was missing for 4 days and the family searched extensively for him, even searching in the pit latrines. They called the police, who came out, but they just told the family that the boy would turn up. The family searched and searched. One day the mother of Francis became really upset and threw all of Francis’ clothes into the field behind the compound because she said there was no need for them as no one knows where her little boy is. She was the first person to see his body as it was lying in that very field behind their compound. The family thinks that the body was just placed there because there weren’t any flies on his body. The family explained how Francis’ upper and lower jaws were removed, along with a piece of his throat and an organ from his stomach. His eyes were also pricked which the family thinks was a way to destroy any evidence because they said that police use the eyes to try and track the culprit. The police came and the family said it costs money to investigate and so the boy’s killer was never captured. But the family knows who the killer is. In fact he still lives in Serere and owns a store there.

When asked how they are coping, the family said that it’s in God’s hands and that one day the man who did this will get his. They said this man always wanted riches. They also said that the man had went to a witchdoctor to find out how he can obtain riches. The witchdoctor then told him to kill his own son but instead the man killed Francis. When the man took Francis’ body to the witchdoctor, he/she said that he couldn’t accept this body because it wasn’t his own son. The family said that’s when he dumped Francis’ body in the field behind the compound. The family buried Francis behind the compound and planted a flower in the spot where his body was found.

During the interview they spoke of how Francis was a happy and good-looking kid.

During a visit in town, I was approached by a man who happened to work with one of the radio stations in Soroti. After speaking with him for a few minutes about why I’m here, etc., he invited me to come and speak on a morning radio show the next day. I had wanted all the staff of the Gideon Foundation to conduct the show (Santos, Dorothy and Stella) and then I would just be on the side, but due to the late notice, both Santos and Stella couldn’t make it. So on June 9, 2011, Dorothy and I were on a radio show. Since I was still new to things, we had told the radio host to pass the questions to Dorothy, as she is well versed in things since she has volunteered at the Gideon Foundation for over a year.

After Dorothy and I both introduced ourselves, we were asked questions. The radio host kept posing questions at me for various reasons. She asked about the causes behind child sacrifice, if its in the history of Soroti, etc. I answered what I could and then passed it along to Dorothy. During the end of the show I spoke of how we were trying to create awareness of child sacrifice and said that if anyone has been affected by child sacrifice to give Santos a call. I then gave out Santos’ phone number (I had cleared this with him beforehand).

Dorothy and I then returned to the office to find out that everyone had listened in and also that Santos had received 3 phone calls. One of these phone calls was from a woman in Soroti named Esther who wanted to volunteer with the Gideon Foundation. Esther then came over to the office and come to find out she has an array of experience working with vulnerable populations. So the Gideon Foundation now has a new volunteer. The other 2 phone calls were from persons who lost someone to child sacrifice and we are currently trying to coordinate a time and date to speak with them. (will insert photo of Dorothy with radio host here)

The Gideon Foundation Against Child Sacrifice (GIFACS) was founded in 2007 by Santos and Leah Labeja. They founded this non-profit organization after their son, Gideon, was kidnapped and murdered in an act of child sacrifice when he was 4 years old in 2006. He was taken by a man who was staying in the courtyard of the school where Santos works as the headmaster. The man who kidnapped and murdered Gideon was from Gulu, located in the norther region of Uganda, and was one of the persons displaced by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). After the LRA attacked the northern regions of Uganda they then spread to others and attacked Soroti in what I’ve been told was 2003. Santos, who is originally from Gulu, had invited his displaced relatives and other people from where he is from to stay within the school’s courtyard. The man who murdered Gideon was one of these displaced persons staying in the school’s courtyard and he was actually from the same ethnic group as Santos. Gideon was lured away using a musical Christmas card and was taken to a nearby house where he was mutilated, strangled and then his body was thrown under the bed. Some of his body parts were taken by the man with hopes that it would bring him riches as he was told by a witchdoctor. Some of the other children, including some of the siblings of Gideon, were witnesses to the muder as they peeked through a crack in the door of the house during the incident. They then alerted others. Gideon was Mrs. Labeja’s only son.

Photo of Gideon

The man was caught by authorities but was eventually allowed to escape. Since then the Labeja’s have devoted their efforts to ending child sacrifice. Leah is currently back in school pursuing a degree in social work as she would like to help other families cope.

The Gideon Foundation is devoted to ending child sacrifice by raising awareness about the practice and aspires to push forward a law in Uganda specifically against it. Their activities include travelling to neighboring villages and speaking to people about child sacrifice; that it won’t bring you riches and telling children and parents the steps they can take to try and prevent it. Santos has found a team of lawyers to help him in drafting a proposed law that the Gideon Foundation hopes the Ugandan Parliament will one day pass. They also speak and counsel family survivors of child sacrifice and collect as much data as they can on child sacrifice cases in Uganda. Everything that the Gideon Foundation has been given was through donations. For example, Santos and Leah were both previously able to speak on several radio stations a few times about child sacrifice because they were offered free radio spots at night. Also, the website of the Gideon Foundation was created and is maintained by a generous family in Kampala who heard of Santos’ story and decided to help.

But their activities are limited as the Gideon Foundation currently has no funding source. The only way they have been able to implement any projects is through the pockets of Mr. and Mrs. Labeja. Also, Santos is the co-founder and head of another organization called Community Care Services which provides services to the district of Soroti in many fields including education, health, etc. In one of their projects, Community Care Services, built the Soroti Central Secondary School and one of the buildings in the school’s courtyard houses Community Care Services. The Gideon Foundation is also currently located in this building as well since Community Care Services has offered them support by allowing them to use a room in their building. This room is temporary until the Gideon Foundation locates funding to build its office on a plot of land located near the grave of Gideon, which is located in the neighboring district of Amuria (where Mrs. Labeja is from).

When the Gideon Foundation launched in 2007, they held a march around Soroti. This demonstration not only included a march all around the town of Soroti, but speeches by Santos and religious leaders and performances by schoolchildren. This event was not only to signal that the Gideon Foundation is here but it was also an opportunity for those affected by child sacrifice to vent. (I was given a copy of a video that was taken of the march and will post it soon)

The staff of the Gideon Foundation are all currently volunteers. These volunteers are Santos Labeja, the executive director, and then there are 2 volunteer social workers, Dorothy and Stella (will insert photo of them here soon).

My typical day starts at the Gideon Foundation office where I meet with Santos and then Dorothy and Stella. We, Dorothy and I and sometimes Stella comes too, usually head out to conduct an interview somewhere. Things always come up by my typical day usually starts like this.