‘Witchcraft’ couple face life sentences

A couple are facing life sentences after being found guilty of murdering a teenage boy they accused of witchcraft.

Kristy Bamu, 15, was tortured and drowned in a bath on Christmas Day 2010 by his sister, Magalie, and her partner, Eric Bikubi.

They believed he had cast spells on another child in the family, the Old Bailey heard.

Football coach Bikubi, 28, and Magalie, 29, of Newham, east London, denied murder but were found guilty. They were remanded in custody to be sentenced on Monday.

Kristy was in such pain after three days of being attacked with knives, sticks, metal bars, and a hammer and chisel that he “begged to die” before slipping under the water.

He had refused to admit to sorcery and witchcraft and his punishments in a “deliverance” ceremony became more horrendous.

He had come to London with his two brothers and two sisters from their home in Paris to visit Magalie during the Christmas holiday in 2010.

But Bikubi turned on them, accusing them of bringing kindoki — or voodoo — into his home.

He forced them to pray for deliverance for three days and nights and deprived them of food and water.

The sisters, aged 20 and 11, were beaten along with Kristy, but escaped further attacks after “confessing” to being witches.

Kristy was singled out after wetting his pants. He was struck in the mouth with a heavy bar and hammer, knocking out his teeth.

Ceramic floor tiles and bottles were smashed on his head and a pair of pliers used to twist his ear.

The terrified siblings, who also included a 13-year-old boy and an autistic brother aged 22, were made to join in the torture.

At one point, Bikubi told the youngsters to jump out of the window to see if they could fly, the court heard.

They looked to their older sister to save them, but instead Magalie encouraged Bikubi and beat Kristy until he also confessed to witchcraft.

Brian Altman QC, prosecuting, said: “It was only when he realised that Kristy was not moving that Eric Bikubi stopped what he was doing and pulled him from the water. By then it was too late.”

Kristy had 130 separate injuries and died from a combination of being beaten and drowning.

Items found in the flat had been used as “weapons of torture”.

The jury was told that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from which the defendants originally came, witchcraft was practised in Christian churches. But out of the church’s control “it may take on a feral and indeed evil character, as we suggest it did here”, Altman added.

Bikubi admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility caused by brain damage, but this was rejected. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of causing actual bodily harm to the girls. Magalie denied the assaults but was found guilty.