[Deathwatch] Baba Jallow, suspected penis snatcher, 28

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Suspected Penis Snatcher Beaten to Death
Fri Oct 10,10:53 AM ET

BANJUL (Reuters) - A 28-year-old man accused of stealing a man's penis
through sorcery was beaten to death in the West African country of
Gambia on Thursday, police said.

A police spokesman told Reuters that Baba Jallow was killed by about 10
people in the town of Serekunda, nine miles from the capital Banjul.

Reports of penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, with
purported victims claiming that alleged sorcerers simply touched them
to make their genitals shrink or disappear in order to extort cash in
the promise of a cure.

The police spokesman said many men in Serekunda were now afraid to
shake hands, and he urged people not to believe reports of "vanishing"
genitals. Belief in sorcery is widespread in West Africa.

Seven alleged penis snatchers were beaten to death by angry mobs in
Ghana in 1997.