taken home more than $480000000.00 your company is now bankrupt our economy is in a state of crisis is very basic but this is where billions lost their home to the u.s. . is held responsible i will be fabulously wealthy and i am right or thank. the man who still. on al-jazeera. hello and welcome again to rewind i'm laura cairo in this series we're revisiting some of the best documentaries on al-jazeera english since we launched more than

a decade ago back in 20000 the people in power series traveled to west africa to expose the shocking story of how young gone and children were being murdered because of the mistaken belief they were possessed by evil spirits no one knows the exact numbers of these ritual deaths across gonna been in kenya fast so and parts of nigeria but some believe it could be in the thousands the killing of these so-called spirits children as the consequence of ancient customs shaped by ignorance and poverty in this compelling program award winning gone an investigative reporter an ass r m a o n a s used hidden cameras to bring some of those behind these killings to justice from 2013 his spirit child. some west african communities have branded children born deformed or with disabilities as evil spirits they are seen as

a drain on limited resources and so medicine men often acts to perform rituals and prepare poisonous concoctions to kill them thousands of defenseless children have been made that this week. my name is a mass mass i am an investigative reporter because of the work i do i never show my face. i have come to nonbeing done not to investigate disparate child phenomena food is scarce here even children must wait for the family to eat. now the long dry season has come full families move into the big city looking for work or to sell the animals. living on the edge of survival the birth of a disabled child is greatly fear it's seen as a terrible burden on their family an extra mouth to feed their child won't be able to help in their field and neither will its mother who will have to do woods precious thing to escape out of this fear and tradition has gone they believe that such a child is

a spirit child an evil presence that must be destroyed before it threatens the survival of the family it doesn't even need to be disabled image child in a family where things are going wrong can be branded as evil and when this happens elders in the community known as. paul didn't poison the child. and a marked up or. is it in. that hugely. emotional. election. it will not. get all. of you. i'm ok but.

you my lad my man and my middle. son never sound bad to me if you can. by saying laziness it is done to you. and i'm heading for a place known locally as they will forests because their bodies or spiritual have been buried here for centuries. this is here at the only indication to show that's . where varied here the concoction men hide their bodies under the storms to prevent us from digging them up this forest remains green and still standing because the local people are afraid they are scared that the evil forest would eat them up local and jews have often used dialogue to talk to community members to stop this practice advocacy has been successful to some

extent but has not been able to eradicate this from the community. we are in a more democratic than now law enforcement must take over to stamp out this once and for all but we can't find any record of anyone ever been arrested for what can only be described as a dreadful crime i've come to police headquarters in bogotá than that to meet their original command and find out why it is the very thing to do it is a very difficult thing to do even if you good information one is know where it is happening who are behind and who in current events so you can mount machine and good and it's unfortunate we have no idea why this is happening who are behind or these and why or this why the of morgan obviously. it is being done on the quiet and you never know. if the police can find everything

maybe i can my plan is to find some concoction men to invent a so-called problem child and see if they will diagnose it as an evil spirit then i am to catch them in the act of trying to poison it a colleague has agreed to let us use coffee is 18 month old son to play the part of my spirit job when the concoction men come to do the deed but obviously i can't risk his life so at the last moment we will be straight with the contents of this suit a similar looking them of a child made from silicon by a movie props company in london. shortly so she can feel. my 1st step is to integrate into the community i'm moving to see the historical heartland of this bridge you know me where i have rented this property. would separate buildings and 2 entrances it's perfect for my plan.

in 3 weeks of investigation i've already met 14 individuals spread over an area the size of libya from nodding them at a neighboring booking. person who admittedly did kill spirit children before him of this said they were willing to poison my chops now it's time to do a deal with one of them a broker who has a good beat i've told him that he's my son was born nothing has gone right with i've lost money and my cats have broken down now we are meeting to make the final arrangements. to lend it up. here lend it to you. 11 complied and that i let. me take you at that extent about 2 more time that i'm. you really. must. chinelo you. can do a lot. of this old. morning. if

you please that acutely. because i'm broke. but you know you won't be gone for good. what d.c. happened to the sting a little bit but the bones aren't part of it without you you know you could. be noble a bunk 10 we're talking all are gonna love you some moves i know this a little been built up putting a car loan. in your beautician i want to do you view shit man laughter. because you're going to attack it agree to a $230.00. 2 simple one. well.

you understand now you. family you look at it now as come on there's. enough consolation from. now we have the oracles blessed and the broker agrees to contact them and to prepare a poisonous concoction and administer it to my son a child's life has now been sold for 40 us don't last 3 files i'm deeply shocked at this been for a while then does have become a necessity to a plot to madam i tell you. of the cylinder deal with the broker and moving on to

the neighboring province and meet with another who said the willing to kill myself this time i'm dealing directly with the medicine man and from what i had more than read they don't know anyone in. the. lab. but. i mean when or. how they go on. i want to. know what of. m y m. o m b one of the. one of my weird about the end. i think that to look ahead doing it like a dog being the thought it one of being there do you know who got there when and

then never did you see somebody here that was letting the. yellow eyed the way. depend on them and i've got bags. as anyone with the. lance web media and i think a plaza and i'd probably have a lot. doing what 'd i thought. when. you're going to get out the month before. and then being that yeah i can get by when i said that i had to. take a look of what he called buzz on why i think company is on you to be retarded in the head to be turned in a computer he's definitely. come back to me.

at. no you invited 2 groups of men to come to my rented property. and minister to my. their medicine man's group shuttle for fares then in the morning they broke for the afternoon what they don't know is that local police offices will be hidden away in one of the buildings watching on t.v. monitors but 1st i need to prepare the house to receive them. as dawn breaks the next morning the police arrive and pack is save distance from the house. 'd officers will be monitoring every moment of their activities while 2 police in uniform will wait by the vehicle ready to take anyone arrested into class that. is also now with us. men who believe our story we move over to the house in twos and threes to avoid arousing suspicion. seem is now in one and.

6 plainclothes police officers and a baby is time to bring in and place it on a makeshift bed in the secretes camera room. is now ready to take place at the last minute. 3 of he says the cup was asians while they. and his 2 remaining colleagues sit in the money to move. from here keep vigil and be ready to move in the moment the concoction men intend to kill. suddenly we had the medicine man and his accomplice approach.

i take them eh. some man and his i phone police inside the house showed them their real child. suddenly would amend cement leaning obama feet i'm never about he sifts they clearly have no qualms about killing him. and it gets worse wendy demand. bringing him outside for them to inspect a 2nd but i need them to believe i am ready to follow through if my plan is going to work out and the time that it. tick tick tick.

tick tick tick. tick. days no way i'm leaving to feed their with them for a 2nd is them to get him to safety. i pass him through the window and into the secure before we'd seen police officer. there met some men build a fire and well some boots they dug up this morning to create a deadly brew. and . i'm.

finally ready to admin is that a concoction. we make our way into the bedroom where de demand i handle but it's out there is still don't know it's a replica thank. you. gondar rest young not to like to see anything unless you wish to see i thought that i would see you down and be given no evidence no fault of law against. the person for the person to person.

is this also bought off yes there's no it isn't a prepared one and then this is where the prepared to put the people. to get people to keep their big today even in handcuffs one of their men is still hanging on to a dummy as forensics offices begin to take samples of the materials used to make the concoction. no but. it would have been the way it would. have ways and also one already one example into the business and the liquid the men had already prepared to admin is that people feel. like.

having that is sufficient evidence to the police and now confident that the men both intended and not tempted to made that it's out. a police vehicle is ready and waiting to take them into custody. i. think. of. the father. and the police station. and told to give up all the opposition include india loads before being put into the cells. it.

there will now wait here under lock and key until ed called decides the fate. back at the house night has fallen by the brook and his collaborate this the other group invited to visit coffee filter the police the said our evidence is sufficient to i raise them in a way as soon as he's taken into custody agrees to get us to the homes of his accomplices 1st is this who declared my fictitious child was evil. then to prevent anyone from wanting to play scape will creep up on the house of the man who has been commissioned by the broker to prepare and administered a. search so i tell you that your cunt is payment folkways in india this life is also discovered and they can ask everything

. as they are loaded into the police while good in taking to the cells the industry see where very different expressions of the 1st. illusion relate the only now understand that take in a child's life the 2nd when that. spirits child from 2813 a moving and powerful film and to day says on this story we're joined now by investment journalist and the us is also is not to show his identity great to have you in the studio with us. first of all explain to viewers who may not of course it from the film why you've got the face covering while i have always been in this

traditional mask in my career and that so ensure security and that's to help so people don't see that phase that does that feel how dangerous is your work. i guess this is not to point to me but most african jan. 2 investigations have series of. dangerous points in our last so it's you just have to be you have to think that how do i survive through then this story and i have come i will beat that i wear i'm sure my adequately some in nigeria. if i dust house of protecting themselves. what sort of harassment have you faced when you were doing your work generally you would have before would definitely want to point guns at you some would try to kidnap you and we've had most of these happen and i mean getting threats of that is it's normal legal all those and there's no cinemas to me

alone but most of my colleagues on the continent a fact that you're muncher is to name and shame and jail. over the naming and shaming but why do you feel it's so important to take it to that level where you want to see the people that you're reporting on pay for us to face justice there's nothing more frustrating than doing a story on someone and working on the same street on that with that person if that's even more dangerous and that can easily and the life of any journalist saw the days when we sit down and then say we have this problem we don't do story for people to just read and smile in the bedrooms we do stories that have impacts on society for me that a good story is the story that named shane and jill did the bad guy i mind can be unconventional i testify in the court of law to make sure that the bad guys are put behind bass and that has helped so many people have gone to jail as

a result of my work and i'm proud of it if we look at the film that we've just seen spirit child i mean it's a heartbreaking investigation what happened to those concoction men did they go to jail yes they started their leader process but do you realise that there were too old so by the time that process could finish some of them just couldn't even make it to the us only they had some sympathy but the key if in that happened in that story is that it told the community that whoever you are when you attempt to do some of these things you are going behind bass for the fest and those witch doctors where arrested and they were to before. courts that sent a strong signal to all witch doctors to be careful that when you are dealing with the life of a child it's a completely different math and that we can set down for this children to be killed in the way the been killed the former u.s. president barack obama he recognized you as

a courageous journalist who risked his life to tell the truth and that's quite an extraordinary recognition to have do you think that you walk is having lost seeing positive impacts on ghana look africa as a ted world country we not have problems we have the judiciary we know the problems we have adopted these folks before my thing that i am controversial but i am saying that on labor day you can the u.s. where journalists called the west story and the security agencies and judicial systems are stronger and could take up such issues in africa we don't have that we have institutions that lack basic amenities so i see no reason why a reporter from in a part of african continent would take one stick to the security date says half the minutes you are wasting people die that's the difference between stories that have been in the west and stories that have been in africa and author of very good speech about the very brave what that you were doing thanks for joining us here on

rewind thank you and that is it for this week's rewind if you want to catch any of the other films in the series you'll find them on the rewind page on the out of their website but for now until next time good luck. rewind affair bring your people back to life i'm sorry but dates on the best of al-jazeera documentaries little i was the 1st and no like and the other student green one continues with kosovo i feel a fear and this was my return to kosovo and the little village of but one decade on i've come back to find out what happened to those hopes and dreams rewind on al-jazeera. every generation has a higher purpose. ours is just

a. challenging the brazilian dictatorship with a democratically run for the team. the clean fields changed the course of. the center was a revolutionary sort. known to locals as the dr. football rebels concludes with a celebration of the life and legacy of socrates in the corinthians democracy movement on al-jazeera. there is no channel that covers world news like we do we revisit places mistake on jazeera pretty invests in that and that's a privilege as a journalist. al-jazeera

. where after you. take russian or trade a foreign fighters battling libya's government hold back from the front lines in tripoli. or shock area this is al jazeera live from doha also coming up surrounded by scandal and seeking support ourselves president remains defiant as the u.s. bans travelers from the country. which is very very worrying. people go to a ripe old most overall reach didn't.