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PNG’s first ‘glassman’ sorcery conviction: can it ‘stop madness’ of mob justice?
After a horrific machete killing, a landmark ruling in Papua New Guinea aims to curb deadly sorcery accusations driven by jealousy and greed
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Papua New Guinea has secured its first-ever conviction for a sorcery accusation that led to the killing of a mother of five in 2023.
Campaigners and police say they hope this legal precedent will deter the country’s rampant mob justice that has been fuelled by spurious witchcraft accusations, often born of petty rivalries.
Rich in natural gas, rare timber, gold, and fisheries, PNG has become a focal point of international competition in recent years, with Australian and Chinese companies vying for access to its valuable resources.
However, the influx of wealth has also shifted power balances in an overwhelmingly poor and rural society, where communal and tribal violence is surging – including a rise in incidents of Sorcery Accusation-Related Violence (SARV) – as competition for these resources intensifies.
While complete data is scarce, a 2024 United States Institute of Peace report estimated that nearly 700 people had been killed in sorcery-related murders over the previous 25 years. These figures were described as “dark numbers” due to insufficient reporting, as villagers often protected each other from investigators, and journalists struggled to access the remote and dangerous regions that were most affected.
Most victims are women, according to the non-profit Tribal Foundation in the nation’s capital, Port Moresby.
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