South African Police Services approach to witch-hunts problematic
The investigation of accusations of witchcraft and witch-hunts falls under the ambit of the Occult-related Crime Unit, until fairly recently, a poorly constituted special branch of the South African Police Services staffed by evangelical Christians who believe that ‘witchcraft’ constitutes evidence of Satanic activity.
Occult Crime Unit to investigate the supernatural
Despite attempts by this Alliance to engage with members of this unit in order to constructively cooperate with and assist said unit to manage witchcraft accusations and violent witch-hunts in a way that affirms the dignity and humanity of those accused of practicing witchcraft, to create victim support units to facilitate reintegration and conciliation of those accused, and adopt comprehensive public education and awareness programmes aimed at eradicating the real causes of witchcraft accusations, members of this investigative unit has refused to engage with this Alliance or acknowledge this advocacy against accusations of witchcraft and witch-hunts.
Formal submission submitted to the SAPS ORC unit in 2012 was responded to by the national head of this unit, Attie Lamprecht, through an online evangelical Christian magazine. No formal SAPS response has ever been received by this Alliance.
SAPS targets Occultists, Esoterics and Pagans
Download a copy of SAPRA’s 2016 Submission on the National Action Plan to combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, concerning accusations of witchcraft and witch-hunts.