Parents dump 45 pupils at Budaka police station over suspected demon attacks

A screenshot of the Budaka District from the map of Uganda.

What you need to know:

  • He said the school which has a total enrollment of about 997 pupils started running out of control last Wednesday until Monday when the parents decided to take their concerns to the police.

  • “Religious leaders tried to conduct prayers at the school but the situation kept escalating. This prompted the community to mobilise themselves and do things their way,” Mr Mukwenda said.

Drama unfolded at Budaka Central Police station on Monday after parents of Kebula Primary School stormed the station and dumped there a total of 45 pupils demanding the release of a suspected Kenyan witchdoctor from police cells to cast out demons from their children.

The irate parents stormed the police station at about 2:30pm with their children speaking strange languages, which they claimed had become a serious concern to them. The parents alleged that a Kenyan woman was behind the suspected demons which have invaded their school.

“This situation was uncalled for. People should understand their problems and learn how to solve them amicably than turning violent. The police could not cast out the demons. They should have engaged their leaders (PTA, Head-teacher and DEO) to discuss a possible solution,” Budaka District Police Commander, Mr Wilson Salaam said.

Mr Salaam said that he was forced to transport these parents and their children back to the school to investigate the root cause of this problem.

“With the help of local witchdoctors, we discovered that some traditional herbs had been planted in the school and the person responsible had the intention of extorting money from the school administration before calming the situation. Fortunately enough, the demons from pupils were able to be cast out and they resumed with their normal lessons,” he said.

Mr Moses Kamya, one of parents narrated how his primary five daughter started behaving strangely after being possessed by the said demons.

“Sometimes she could walk like a snake and make very strange sound. Her colleagues as well started to make funny noise, crying out loudly while at school and this prompted us to suspect one of the witchdoctors to be behind all this,” he said.

Parents pledged to always hold prayers at the school so as to prevent these demons from attacking their children again.

The school head teacher, Mr Gusta Mukwenda, said it was the first time they were experiencing such.

He said the school which has a total enrollment of about 997 pupils started running out of control last Wednesday until Monday when the parents decided to take their concerns to the police.

“Religious leaders tried to conduct prayers at the school but the situation kept escalating. This prompted the community to mobilise themselves and do things their way,” Mr Mukwenda said.