International Day of Older Persons: Violence and Witchcraft Accusations Against Elders Denounced in Rural Areas

On the International Day of Older Persons, observed on November 1, Victor Nzuzi Mbembe, a local notable and civil society activist in Boko, denounced the humiliation, assaults and witchcraft accusations targeting older people in villages in Mbanza-Ngungu, Kongo-Central. He cited a 90-year-old man burned in his home in Kimbongo in September following a land dispute, and a man over 70 who was hacked to death in Gombe-Sud after relatives accused him of witchcraft. Nzuzi Mbembe also said two older INERA employees from Mvuazi were publicly humiliated and transferred to Mayombe despite their age and fragile health; one died three weeks after the transfer. He called for greater attention to older people’s problems and protection.