Dr. Leo Igwe Speaks on Ending Witchcraft Allegations in the 21st Century

Dr. Leo Igwe spoke to the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago about how unexamined superstition and dogma produce tangible harm. Using today’s African witchcraft accusations, he drew parallels to Europe’s early modern witch panics and argued the phenomenon is transnational, not “African culture.” Because witchcraft lacks evidentiary basis, accusations operate like criminal charges yet deny presumption of innocence and can spark violence against vulnerable people. Religious entrepreneurs exploit exorcism narratives for status and money. Igwe urged accountability—policing, prosecutions, and institutional reform—plus prevention through early critical-thinking education, international solidarity, and a humanist commitment to evidence and rights, unfinished global human-rights work.

Dr. Leo Igwe spoke to the community of the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago. His presentation emphasized the longstanding and contemporary harms that can follow when superstition and dogma go unquestioned for too long.

In the African context, the issue of witchcraft accusations and related persecution can resemble the early modern European witch-hunting (and, at times, witch-burning) panics from centuries prior. In other words, superstition is a universal, transnational phenomenon whose prominence varies by period and location.

Igwe argued that witchcraft accusations are not harmless folklore in this African context today. They are a pipeline to violence, often against the vulnerable. They can function like criminal accusations in practice. However, because there is no reliable evidence for supernatural “witchcraft” as a causal force in the world, such allegations lack evidentiary basis. The accused are therefore entitled to the presumption of innocence, yet injuries and deaths can result from community violence instigated by baseless accusations of witchcraft.

Accusations are grounded in misinformation about ordinary human experiences. People can be misled by dreams. They can be misinformed about dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. They may mistake mental illness or mental-health crises as spiritual attacks—whatever that means. The accused then can easily move from the category of “Accused” to the category of “Threat.” They are not treated as human beings needing care, but threats needing swift community action.

Many religious entrepreneurs, pastors, and self-styled prophets/imams and marabouts, become portrayed as the modern witch-finders. They utilize these fear-driven narratives, such as exorcism and deliverance (as a framing device). These storylines become the basis for legitimizing abuse and generating status and money for themselves. The incentives for corrupt motives and deception seem immense in this domain.

This phenomenon can be legitimately distinguished from “African culture” as something unique to Africa. Witch persecutions have occurred across societies (including in Europe), and in different places they can graft themselves onto local customs and institutions. It is transnational as a problem.

Belief systems plus story templates drive these accusations, travelling internationally, acutely through global religions and networks. A solely local fix will not solve the problem, Igwe argued; it can require international pressure and solidarity.

The imprimatur of respecting culture can become moral surrender, as he criticised many Western NGOs for taking the stance of treating witch-hunt violence as a cultural practice untouchable from criticism. These NGOs are afraid of being labeled racist, colonialist, or Islamophobic.

He views accountability as central and that witch-hunters must be stopped as well. Law enforcement action, prosecution, and institutional reform, are necessary as comprehensive solutions, while needing acknowledgement of corruption and weak enforcement that can shield perpetrators.

Igwe argues prevention beats triage. Critical thinking needs to be taught earlier, and one form of counter-programming against superstition is critical-thinking education in schools. There should be rewards for questioning, testing claims, and treating good questions as a skill.

Humanism has a central role in the commitment to evidence and human rights. Igwe argues harmful supernatural claims, even when unpopular as a stance, should be challenged. African partners need support in this, and the challenging of harmful supernatural claims like witch-hunts remains a globally unfinished business. Europe’s own history is not a reason for complacency.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the publisher of In-Sight Publishing (ISBN: 978-1-0692343) and Editor-in-Chief of In-Sight: Interviews (ISSN: 2369-6885). He writes for The Good Men Project, International Policy Digest (ISSN: 2332–9416), The Humanist (Print: ISSN 0018-7399; Online: ISSN 2163-3576), Basic Income Earth Network (UK Registered Charity 1177066), A Further Inquiry, and other media. He is a member in good standing of numerous media organizations.