From: "The Watch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> WITCHCRAFT WITCHCRAFT LAW UP FOR REVIEW PARLIAMENT February 11 2000 Sapa South Africa's antiquated witchcraft legislation is to be reviewed in an attempt to help traditional communities resolve disputes without resorting to violence, according to the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE). Commissioner Elize Delport told Parliament's committee on children, youth and disabled people on Friday that the act was vague, ineffective, and could be fuelling the kind of violence it sought to prevent. There are regular reports of witchcraft-related killings in South Africa's rural areas. Particularly problematic has been the Northern Province, where women are often targeted as witches. Delport said that in the wake of workshops held in September 1998 and December last year, which involved traditional healers and leaders, academics, and victims and perpetrators of witchcraft-related violence, the commission had drawn up proposals for a new law. Its working title was the Regulation of Baloyi Practices Act. She said Baloyi was a Venda word for which there was no precise English equivalent, but could be loosely translated as "witchcraft". The Law Commission, the department of justice and the CGE had formed a committee to take the proposals through the normal legislative process. She said the existing act totally denied the existence of witchcraft and, by extension, any belief in witchcraft, and was aimed at punishing people who accused others of the practice. In traditional society, a witchcraft accusation would be an indication of discord and deeper problems in a community, which traditional leaders would then mediate. The draft legislation proposed that this process - which was thwarted by the current act - be recognised in law. However she doubted whether legislation alone would "do the trick", and the commission was carrying out public education to change people's perceptions. The Witchcraft Suppression Act, passed in 1957, sets a 20-year jail sentence for anyone who, professing a knowledge of witchcraft, names one person as having caused death, injury, grief, or disappearance of another. It also provides for up to five years in jail for anyone who "professes a knowledge of witchcraft, or the use of charms...(and) supplies any person with any pretended means of witchcraft". http://www.anc.org.za:80/ancdocs/briefing/nw20000214/8.html --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- FREE ADVICE FROM REAL PEOPLE! Xpertsite has thousands of experts who are willing to answer your questions for FREE. Go to Xpertsite today and put your mind to rest. <a href=" http://clickme.onelist.com/ad/XpersiteCPC ">Click Here</a> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The mission of The Watch Alert list is to provide information concerning the activities and policies of Religious Right groups to concerned Pagans. List members are encouraged to redistribute The Watch updates to anyone who might be concerned. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the mailing list, visit the Watch Alert page at; http://thewatch.paganteahouse.com/watch_alert/ For further information, contact us at [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://thewatch.paganteahouse.com
