Some 50 people are reported to have died in Angola over January and February in rituals intended to identify witches.
The deaths occurred near the town of Camacupa, in Bié province.
According to a local councillor, Luzia Filemone, the deaths were attributable to forcible ingestion of a toxic herbal concoction.
‘More than 50 victims were forced to drink this mysterious liquid which, according to traditional healers, proves whether or not a person practises witchcraft’, she said.
The drink, called Mbulungo, is prepared by traditional healers and believed to prove that the target is a witch by killing him or her.
Beliefs in witchcraft are deep-rooted in Angola, although the Catholic Church has attempted to combat this, as well as the rituals associated with finding alleged witches.