Murder, Witchcraft and the Killing of Wildlife: Memoirs of a Police Officer in the Heart of Africa

A former British police officer’s memoir of his assignment in Northern Rhodesia where he encountered black magic, cannibals, human trafficking, and more.

Stephen R. Matthew’s first police posting near the Northern Rhodesian border with the Congo coincided dramatically with a time of horrific ethnic cleansing in the Belgian Congo area. At just twenty-one years old, Stephen was knifed, ambushed, stoned, shot, and wounded by bow and arrow. Steve’s life was saved several times by his courageous Doberman, Alex . . .

This is the true, action-packed, unadulterated stories of those frantic and dangerous years, where a young police inspector confronted terrifying actions and events well beyond his complete understanding. He found that the cops were fighting on two fronts: trying to protect the vulnerable citizens of the country and at the same time endeavoring to stop the slaughter of wildlife.

This unique book depicts dramatic accounts of witchcraft-murders and cannibalism. Highly dangerous solo investigations are detailed, incorporating incidents of black magic, kidnapping, arson, gun-running and people trafficking.

“[A] rattling good memoir by a former British police officer writing of his colorful career while on assignment in Congo . . . . Despite his best attempts, Matthews could never shake off the way the locals saw him, as a white witch doctor with the ability to speak with the spirits of the dead and place spells against the living. There’s a story—several, in fact—about what led to this perception, which proves that, at the very least, the author learned a thing or two about telling a tale.” —The New York Times

© 2020 Pen & Sword True Crime (Ebook): 9781526764089

Release date

Ebook: 19 February 2020