Witchcraft and the Price of a Child’s Life
Inside the horrifying belief system that’s turning innocent children into “ingredients” - all for spiritual power and profit.
Heike Claudia du Toit
Jul 17, 2025 - 3:54 PM
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Sold for Her Eyes
When six-year-old Joslin Smith vanished from her home in Saldanha Bay, South Africa, in February 2024, her face quickly appeared on front pages across the country. Posters were printed. Search parties formed. With her striking blue eyes, rare within her racial group, she was instantly recognizable. A nation hoped for her safe return.
But what investigators uncovered was far more horrifying.
Joshlin’s mother, Kelly Smith, along with three accomplices, was arrested and later convicted of trafficking her daughter to a Sangoma, a traditional healer, for use in a ritual killing. According to court testimony, the child was sold for her eyes and skin, believed by the buyer to hold supernatural powers. Joshlin’s body has never been recovered.
Her rare appearance, described by many as “unusual” or “beautiful”, may have marked her for death. But this wasn’t an isolated tragedy. Across Africa and beyond, children with distinct features are murdered to satisfy the brutal demands of witchcraft, mysticism, and spiritual superstition.
Witchcraft’s Young Victims
Ritual killings are often associated with Africa, but they are by no means confined to the one region or even the continent. Reports of such practices have emerged from sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and even among diaspora communities in Western countries. The common thread is a dangerous belief: that human body parts possess spiritual power when used in certain rituals.
These superstitions are exploited by those seeking money, influence, healing, or success, often at the expense of the most vulnerable.
The primary victims of ritual killings are children. Often singled out for being “different,” these children may have albinism, heterochromia, blue or green eyes, disabilities, or unique birthmarks, features that some cultures falsely believe signal spiritual power or supernatural origins.
Children with blue or green eyes are thought to possess the ability to “see” into other realms, their eyes believed to bring prophetic vision, business success, or political influence. Light skin within darker-skinned communities, unusual birthmarks, or even facial symmetry are also viewed as signs of spiritual significance.
An activist working with albino survivors in Malawi captured this dark logic poignantly: “They kill what they admire. They believe the eye that sees differently must have power. So they take it.”
Joshlin Smith, with her pale eyes and delicate features, may have been seen by her killers as a “rare” find. That twisted belief, tragically, cost her life.
A Market for Human Parts
“These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a growing, organised, and deadly trade" said Ikponwosa Ero, the United Nations’ first Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of Human Rights by Persons with Albinism.
Ritual killings are fueled not only by deep-seated beliefs but also by but also by the profits they generate. In Tanzania, a complete “albino set” — including limbs, tongue, eyes, and genitals — can fetch up to $75,000 on the black market. In Nigeria, children are brutally murdered ahead of elections, believed to bring luck or protection to politicians. Meanwhile, in certain tribal regions of India, reports of child sacrifices tied to black magic still surface.
The use of victims’ bodies varies with the ritual. Blood is often mixed with herbs and ingested. Eyes may be crushed into powder and incorporated into charms. Bones are ground into ointments. Some body parts are buried beneath shops or buildings to attract business or ward off misfortune, while others are carried in charm bags or affixed to walls as “protection” spells.
“These children are not killed out of revenge or greed,” explains Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for Southern Africa. “They are sacrificed because of superstition. Their bodies have become commodities in a spiritual black market.”
Superstition, in turn, drives a lucrative and deadly black market for their bodies. Far from harmless cultural practices, these rituals mask one of the most horrific forms of violence against children worldwide.
Culture of Silence
The persistence of these crimes is enabled by silence, fear, and a lack of accountability. In many rural areas, 'Sangomas' — or traditional healers — are respected and feared figures. Families who lose children to ritual killings often remain silent due to fear of being cursed, fear of social stigma, or even belief in the practice itself.
In South Africa, where Joshlin lived, the majority of ritual killings go unsolved. Some communities protect the perpetrators. Others do not trust the justice system. In Malawi and Tanzania, activists trying to protect children with albinism have had to flee or work under armed guard.
Even when arrests are made, the wider network — including clients, traffickers, and financiers — is rarely investigated. Political figures have long been accused of sponsoring such killings, especially during election cycles. These claims are difficult to prove, but the pattern is consistent.
What Is a Child’s Life Worth?
Some have survived and spoken out. One of them was Josephat Torner, a Tanzanian man born with albinism who devoted his life to exposing the ritual killings of children like himself. Traveling across Africa, he raised awareness and confronted those who perpetuate these harmful superstitions. Though he tragically died in 2020 after a car accident, his advocacy helped bring international focus to this hidden crisis.
Groups such as Under the Same Sun, Human Rights Watch, and the UN Human Rights Council continue to advocate for children at risk. Their work includes documenting cases, training police and prosecutors, and establishing safe houses and shelters for victims.
But the battle is far from over. Real change won’t come from laws alone, it demands that communities reject the beliefs that justify these horrors.
Joshlin Smith was only six years old. She was betrayed by those who should have protected her. Her bright blue eyes, full of life and wonder, became the reason she was targeted. What made her beautiful made her a prize to be sold, not a child to be loved.
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Heike Claudia du Toit
South African | Content Writer