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Christopher Cottrell

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.

Among the victims was Lorna Sehequ Nicol, 39, who was butchered by a machete-wielding mob in August 2023 in Kumalu Village, Bulolo district, in the northeastern province of Morobe.
Investigators believe the mother of five became the target of a sorcery accusation because her family had prospered through their gold-mining operations, allowing them to build a house supported by metal pillars, unlike the wooden structures of their neighbours.
On March 12, James Mon was sentenced to five years in jail for accusing her of sorcery that led to her murder.
In many tribal communities, “glassman” are traditional adjudicators of sorcery allegations. However, this role is frequently exploited by criminals who accept payments to make false accusations on behalf of individuals seeking revenge. Sorcery allegations are often enough to rally mobs driven by tribal codes of justice into extreme acts of violence against their targets.
My hope is this will be an example for the whole country, especially for accusers
Regina Patmou, PNG detective senior constable
Mon reportedly received around US$60 to act as the “glassman” in Nicol’s murder.
“My hope is this will be an example for the whole country, especially for accusers,” said Detective Senior Constable Regina Patmou, who led the murder investigation.
“We need more awareness across the country about this case, so people will be educated on the penalty for accusing someone of sorcery.”
The actual perpetrators of the killing are still at large. Gary Bustin, founder of the Tribal Foundation, told This Week in Asia that the villagers involved in the case were protecting each other.
Bustin co-authored the Glassman Act with East Sepik Province Governor Allan Bird to criminalise accusations of sorcery that lead to injury or death, often in horrific acts of violence. This is the first conviction under the act, which was codified in 2022.
“We are energised now to support cases across the country with the Glassman Act and send people to prison to stop this madness,” he said. “People are simply terrified to go to jail here, so hopefully we can seriously mitigate this problem.”
Horrific violence
Tribal violence takes a staggering annual toll across PNG, with murders or massacres leading to revenge cycles that can claim scores of lives in a country awash with automatic weapons smuggled from Indonesia.
In September, more than 17 tribes clashed at the Porgera gold mine in Enga province, leaving more than 50 dead. Tribal clashes a few months earlier in the same province saw 44 people shot dead, contributing to a growing sense of insecurity in PNG. In January last year, rioting in the capital, Port Moresby, led to a national emergency as a police civil servant pay “computer glitch” dispute escalated into anarchy.
Violence has eroded PNG’s economic prospects, making swathes of the country unsafe for outsiders to visit, including NGOs and aid workers.
The Asian Development Bank forecasts economic growth of 4.6 per cent for 2025, with growth sectors including agriculture, fisheries, forestry, mining, tourism and hospitality.
But 39 per cent of the country still lives below the poverty line, with high youth employment endemic and difficult to track, according to a 2022 report by the Papua New Guinea National Research Institute.
It is “a tough balancing act as we increase investment and address our youth bulge with education and employment,” Prime Minister James Marape told This Week in Asia.

“We are increasing security … this case [Mon’s conviction] and law can further protect our 10-year goals for prosperity,” Marape said.
However, beliefs that can result in violence are deeply held. Across PNG, some tribal communities believe that evil spirits can possess humans and cause them to commit calamities.
Sorcery allegations often surface following a sudden death, anthropologists say, with beliefs also easily manipulated by local rivalries and jealousies.
The consequences of the ensuing mob justice can be horrific.
“For those accused of sorcery whether women, men or children, they [angry mobs] often put rebar into fires then jam them into the orifices of victims, cooking them alive from the inside,” Bustin said. “Many are poor and older women, and get gang raped.”
His foundation is supporting investigations into 30 other SARV cases to enforce the Glassman Act.
But enforcement and awareness-raising on the legal penalties “glassman” can now face are a challenge across a vast country with scores of tribes and languages dotted across 467,000 sq km (178,700 square miles).
Campaigners hope social media will help spread Mon’s conviction to inaccessible parts of the country, whose exact population is unknown but is estimated to be between 11 million and 17 million.

“This conviction [under the Glassman Act] is important news,” said anthropologist Michael Main, an expert on PNG tribal conflict and resolution at the University of Melbourne. “And the news will spread because people are connected via the Digicel network using Facebook and WhatsApp all the time. It sends an important message.”
Lawyer Miranda Forsyth, a professor at the Australia National University College of Law, said the jail term “sends a strong message to all in PNG that accusing others of sorcery is dangerous and liable to result in a criminal conviction”.
“PNG is definitely the main country in Oceania to experience this, but it is a major problem also in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa as well as India and Nepal,” added Forsyth, who is also the director of the International Network Against Witchcraft Accusations and Ritual Attacks.
Nicol’s husband and five children try to remain as anonymous as possible over fears of further attacks. However, her relatives refuse to let her memory fade and hope her death may at least lead to significant changes.
“She was such a kind woman to everyone. She used to come over to my home with fresh vegetables and cook. I will never forget her,” said Lorna’s cousin and family spokesman, Arthur Tatara.
“This [conviction of Mon] gives us a great relief because we are in a rural area where we do not have financial resources to fight for justice. We hope this justice moves across our land for everyone.”


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Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape. Photo: AP

Rachel, a 55-year-old mother of two, shows the scars from wounds inflicted on her when she was accused of sorcery and tortured. Photo: AFP

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After a horrific machete killing, a landmark ruling in Papua New Guinea aims to curb deadly sorcery accusations driven by jealousy and greed


After a horrific machete killing, a landmark ruling in Papua New Guinea aims to curb deadly sorcery accusations driven by jealousy and greed.


Papua New Guinea

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PNG’s first ‘glassman’ sorcery conviction: can it ‘stop madness’ of mob justice?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}After a horrific machete killing, a landmark ruling in Papua New Guinea aims to curb deadly sorcery accusations driven by jealousy and greed

After a horrific machete killing, a landmark ruling in Papua New Guinea aims to curb deadly sorcery accusations driven by jealousy and greed