Seventy-four-year-old Tambala Jefwa stares vacantly out of his one remaining eye as his wife, Sidi, gently removes his shirt.

“They stabbed him with a knife like this and pulled,” she says pointing to the long scar stretching down from his collar bone.

She takes his head in her hands showing what happened in another attack. “They had to pull the scalp back and sew it together.”

Mr Jefwa was accused of being a witch and has been attacked twice in his home, 80km (50 miles) inland from the coastal town of Malindi. The first left him without an eye. The second nearly killed him.

The couple own more than 30 acres of land where they grow maize and raise a few chickens. There has been a dispute with family members over boundaries. They believe this was the real reason Mr Jefwa was almost killed, not that people genuinely believed he was a witch.

“I was left for dead. I lost so much blood. I don’t know why they attacked me, but it can only be the land,” says Mr Jefwa.

Belief in witchcraft and superstition is common in many countries.

But in parts of Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa, it can be used to justify killing elderly people to take their land.

A report called, The Aged, on Edge, by Kenyan human rights organisation Haki Yetu says one elderly person is murdered along the Kilifi coast every week in the name of witchcraft. Its programme officer, Julius Wanyama, says many families believe it is one of their own who orders the killing.

“They use the word witchcraft as a justification because they will get public sympathy. And people will say: ‘If he was a witch, it is good you have killed him.’”

Few people in this region have title deeds for their land. Without a will, they rely on passing it down customarily through the family. Mr Wanyama says seven out of 10 of the killings are elderly men because land ownership and inheritance lie with them.

“Historically people here in Kilifi do not have [land] documentation. The only document they have is the narrative from these elderly people. That is why mostly men are being killed, because once you kill them, then you have removed the obstacle,” says Mr Wanyama.

About an hour’s drive from the Jefwa family land is a rescue centre for the elderly run by the charity, Malindi District Association.

It is home to around 30 elderly people who have been attacked and are unable to go back to their own land.

Sixty-three-year-old Katana Chara, who looks much older than his years, has been here for around 12 months.

He had to move to the centre after he was attacked with a machete in his bedroom in April 2023. One hand was cut off at the wrist, the other just above the elbow. He can no longer work and needs help for the most basic tasks, from feeding and washing to dressing himself.

“I know the person who cut my hands, but we have never met face to face since,” he says.

Mr Chara was accused of being a witch over the death of another man’s child, but believes the real reason he was attacked was because of his six acres of land.

“I don’t have anything to do with witchcraft. I have one piece of land and it is at the seafront. It is a big piece of land.”

Many of Mr Chara’s family members were questioned over the attack but no-one was ever prosecuted. Activist Mr Wanyama has been trying to get justice for him.

“Very few people have been charged on the allegations of killings of elderly. And that’s why I think even the key people who are involved in killing, they feel they are free.”

After months of investigating, BBC Africa Eye managed to track down an ex-hitman who claims to have killed around 20 people. He says the minimum he got paid for each murder was 50,000 Kenyan shillings – around $400 (£310).

“If someone kills an old person, know that their family paid for it. It must be their family,” he tells BBC Africa Eye.

Pushed on how and why he thought it was his right to take someone’s life, he responds: “I may have done something bad because I was given the job and it is me that killed, but according to laws, according to God, the person who sent me is the guilty one.”

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights presented a document to the United Nations in February 2023 stating: “Witch burning, killings, and physical attacks are rife in regions such as Kisii in western Kenya and Kilifi county in coastal Kenya.”

It went on to say that younger family members seeking to acquire family land is a key motivating factor behind the killings. It said the attacks and killings increased during periods of drought and famine when sources of income become scarce.

Mr Wanyama says killings which use accusations of witchcraft to justify land grabs have become a “national disaster”

“It started as a regional issue, but now it has escalated… If we don’t address it, then we are losing our archives of the elderly. Those are the only live archives we can believe.”

In traditional African culture, the elderly are revered for their wisdom and knowledge.

In Kilifi, it is the reverse. Old people are so fearful of becoming a target, many dye their hair in an attempt to look younger.

It is rare for someone in this region to survive after being accused of witchcraft.

While Mr Chara is safe now he lives at the rescue centre for the elderly, for men like Mr Jefwa there is real fear that whoever tried to murder him will come back.

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This follows accusations by a pastor that Afia Sarpomaah was a witch.

The unfortunate incident occurred on Sunday, June 16, 2024.

The Assembly member, Isaac Adu Boateng who confirmed the incident to Kumasi-based OTEC FM said the suspect attempted suicide by drinking weedicide after killing her mother.

She was however apprehended by some residents and sent to the hospital for treatment.

Mr Boateng said Joyce was later handed over to the Police and they admitted to committing the crime.

The body of the deceased has been deposited at Afari Hospital Mortuary pending investigations.

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Citi News reports, the woman was said to have died in her sleep but it was later revealed that she was strangled to death.

But sources say that some people allegedly went into her room, tied a rope around her neck and strangled her till she died.

The family of the woman is demanding to know the killers.

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The five who are in police custody, are among some 12 suspects identified by the relatives of the victims.

It will be recalled that, in May 2023, two persons, Sharu Mohammed (70) and Safura, were lynched by a mob at Zakpalsi who accused the two of witchcraft.

Police in the Northern Region have since been investigating the matter which has led to the arrest of the five on Wednesday night.

A police source told GBC News in Tamale, that, “we are searching for the others and wish to urge residents of the community to help with information on the whereabouts of those on the run.” The five suspects are to be arraigned before court as soon as possible.

Recently, a Tamale High Court sentenced two persons to 12 years each for manslaughter. The two were involved in an attack on a ninety-year-old woman, Akua Denteh, who died shortly after being subjected to beatings over witchcraft accusations.

Though belief in witchcraft is widespread across Ghana, it assumes a significant dimension in Northern Ghana, where persons accused of witchcraft, mostly old, vulnerable women, are assaulted and sometimes lynched.

There are some six camps designated as “witches camps” in the Northern and North East regions. The camps serve as safe havens for persons accused of witchcraft, though the status of the inmates remains difficult.

Campaigners have over the years worked to address the issue of witchcraft accusations in Northern Ghana, including calls for disbanding the camps and prosecuting those who accuse others of witchcraft.

Despite these efforts, witchcraft accusations appear to be on the rise.

In December 2022, the Project Coordinator for the Presbyterian Church’s Go Home Project, Samson Laar, told GBC News at Gambaga, that, 2022 was the worst year in the history of the camp, which was established in 1908.

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The Gomoa Dominse District Police command has arrested prophetess Mary Esther over witchcraft accusations at Gomoa Mampong in the Central Region.

Prophetess Mary was picked up in the early hours of Tuesday, July 18, 2023.

She has been charged with false alarm to wit causing fear and panic.

This was on the back of a widely circulated report in which the prophetess claimed her midnight prayers trapped a witch and made her immobile.

The leader of Deeper Church International, speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, said the incident occurred at about 12:30 am on Monday.

Amidst the prayers, the Lady Reverend claimed she suddenly saw a figure in a black dress and scarf fall at the venue.

She drew closer and realised it was a young woman, believed to be in her 30s, adding she confessed to being the queen mother of Winneba witches who was on a GHS50 mission.

However, the Dominase Police have contradicted the statement of the prophetess.

The Police told Adom News family members from Gomoa Fetteh have been at the Police station and alleging that the woman is dealing with mental challenges and had gone missing for days.

The prophetess is currently in custody, assisting with investigations and is to be arraigned in court soon.

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Play video above:

Gospel musicians, Tagoe Sisters, have opened up on their struggles while growing up including witchcraft accusations.

The identical twins, Lydia Dedei Yawson and Elizabeth Korkoi Tagoe, taking their turn on Adom TV’s M’ashyase3, said their childhood was not a bed of roses neither was the inception of their career.

“We used to sneak to sing in several churches, at GBC and even as far as in the Ashanti Region. We were just inseparable and unstoppable. Everyone was forced to attend prayers at Edumfa but we will never go and due to this, we were called witches by our household but we were not perturbed because we knew what we wanted and were doing,” they narrated on the show.

They told Afia Amankwa Tamakloe there were several attempts to dash their dreams but the passion that came with it was unstoppable and therefore they managed to pull through the hurdles.

“At a time, we went to stay with a man, Nana Wood at Achimota who was a friend of the late popular pastor, Amoako and was even the one who brought him from abroad to Ghana.

“During a visit to our house one day, Nana Wood begged Sofo Amoako to pray and cast out evil spirits out of us. After fervent prayers, he confirmed we were not witches but it was just the grace of God working in us and suggested we stay with a pastor. So our adopter father, Nana Wood gave us out to him,” they said.

To them, the experiences though challenging shaped their lives and have secured them the spotlight they have attained in the music industry for over two decades.

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“Sofo Amoako from that moment became our spiritual father and promoted our career by allowing us to sing at crusades and churches whenever he went to preach,” they said.

They have eight albums including Yesu Be Ye Ama Wo, Manya Yesu, Anka Matete and Watua Maka to their credit.