Christmas, or the holidays in general, are a time for friends and family. Sometimes being together is wonderful, and sometimes it’s misery. When Kristy Bamu traveled from East London to visit his older sister, Magalie, he found nothing but misery.
On December 20, 2010, 15-year-old Kristy Bamu and four of his siblings visited their older sister, Magalie Bamu and her boyfriend Eric Bikubi, who were both 28 at the time. Everything was fine until Kristy had to use the restroom, and found he couldn’t get in. It was such a dire emergency, he wet himself, and then out of embarrassment, tried to hide the evidence by hiding his pants in the kitchen.
Bikubi, who had suffered brain damage, took this as a sign that Kristy had brought “kindoki,” or witchcraft, into his home. He had no choice but to exorcise the boy. But it didn’t stop with Kristy – Bikubi went after the other four as well.
To say it started with simple beatings, is to make it sound like beatings are acceptable. But compared with what Kristy would eventually suffer, the beatings would be preferable.
Over the next four days, all five, three boys and two girls, were asked to prove that they were witches. Kelly, the older sister, said, “They started talking about kindoki, witchcraft and this and that. It was as if they were obsessed by witchcraft and then it became absolutely unbearable. They decided we had come there to kill them.”
It started with prayer and fasting, and when that wasn’t enough, the beatings began. “He began to hit Kristy while my sister was watching and didn’t do anything,” Kelly said. “I begged him, we didn’t do anything, we are innocent. She didn’t argue at all. It was as if it was completely normal. She was just sitting there as a spectator.”
They were beaten, attacked with a knife, and one of the girls was even forced to eat a lightbulb. Bikubi told them to jump out of a window so Bikini could watch them fly. They looked to Magalie, their older sister, for help, but all she did was encourage her boyfriend. “He hit and hit Kristy,” Kelly said. “He was not feeling well, he was having trouble breathing and he fell over. As far as Eric and Magalie were concerned, that was the kindoki coming out of him.”
The sisters, aged 11 and 20, who were accused of sorcery, black magic, as well as witchcraft, chose to make false confessions.According to Kelly, Magaline and Bikubi “asked if we were witches. I repeated again and again that we were not witches. I did not know what was going on in their minds. They decided we had come there to kill them.” What started
Eventually they all admitted to being witches to end the attacks. While that worked for four of them, Kristy was not so lucky. Bikubi ordered them to attack their brother.
For Kristy, the beatings turned to torture. “Kristy asked for forgiveness. He asked again and again. Magalie did absolutely nothing. SHe didn’t lift a finger and said she was convinced that we did bad things.” Kelly said.
Kristy was attacked, suffering more than 200 blows. His teeth were broken with a hammer. He was hit with metal poles. Bikubi used a pair of pliers to rip his ear, and heavy ceramic tiles were dropped on his head. As one would expect, Kristy begged for death. He got his wish on Christmas morning.
Magalie and Bikubi called their father, Pierre Bamu. “Dad, you’ve got to pick up the children because they’re witches and you’re a witch too,” Magalie told her father.
Bikubi said, “You’ve got to come and pick up the children, you’ve got to pick up Kristy because he’s a witch and he’s practicing witchcraft on another child of the family. If you don’t, I’m going to kill him.”
According to Pierre, “When he said that, I wanted to say something to him, then straight after that I heard Kristy’s voice. Kristy was talking in a calm voice. He wasn’t crying. He just spoke to me in a voice like we’re using now. ‘Dad, come and get me, otherwise, Eric will kill me’, and then he was cut off. When Eric said that, knowing Eric as I do I said “It’s not going to come to that because he’s a nice person, a really nice person.”
Magalie and Bikubi put all the siblings into the bathtub. Bikubi proceeded to hose them off with cold water. When he saw that Kristy was no longer moving, he stopped and pulled him from the tub, only to discover that he had died.
When the paramedics arrived, they tried to save Kristy, but were not successful, he was gone. “All were standing in the living room, hysterical, terrified and soaking wet. In a staggering act of depravity and cruelty, they both forced the others to take part in the assaults upon Kristy. The children had no option other than to do as they were told or, or risk the same violence to themselves. As Kristy’s injuries became ever more severe, he even pleaded to be allowed to die. Eventually Bikubi took him into the bathroom, put him in the bath and started to run the water. Kristy was just too badly injured and exhausted to resist or to keep his head above the water. Kristy had been the victim of a prolonged attack of unspeakable savagery and brutality. Kristy was killed in the name of witchcraft. It is hard to believe in this day and age anyone could believe someone was practicing witchcraft,” said Brian Altman.
Police discovered blood all over the home, on the ceiling, walls, as well as on all the tools they had used in their attacks.
Eric Bikubi and Magalie Bamu were arrested for their crimes. Bikubi claimed self defense, saying he was defending himself because Kristy was a witch. Magalie claimed Bikubi forced her to join in on the attack. Bikubi would only admit to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility from his reported brain damage, Magalie denied her involvement.
“It’s an unprecedented scenario where siblings are murdering another sibling. The family have been very positive, they’ve pulled together remarkably well. They were more than willing to give evidence and make sure the perpetrators were dealt with appropriately,” said Detective Inspector Paul Maddock.
“It was prolonged torture involving mental and physical suffering being inflicted before death, said Judge David Paget. While he accepted Bikubi’s claim that brain damage may have made him more inclined to believe Kristy was a witch, he added, “The belief in witchcraft, however genuine, cannot excuse an assault to another person, let alone the killing of another human being.”
During the course of the trial, Judge David Paget pointed out that at no point did Magalie show any remorse for her actions.
Bikubi was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison. Magalie was sentenced to a minimum of 25.
In June 2012, Kristy’s family released the following public statement, forgiving Bikubi and Magalie. The statement was read aloud by Brian Altman.
“We will never forget, but to put our lives back into sync we must forgive. We take no comfort in the verdicts – we have been robbed of a beloved son, a daughter, a son-in-law. Kristy died in unimaginable circumstances at the hands of people who he loved and trusted. People who we all loved and trusted. Christmas, a festival of joy and Jacqueline’s birthday, will always be scarred by these terrible events. We were always fond of Eric and regarded him as a son. We were proud that he would call us Mum and Dad. As a family we planned our futures together and Eric and I were to open a restaurant in London together as a legacy for our family. To know that Kristy’s own sister, Magalie, did nothing to save Kristy makes the pain that much worse. We are still unaware of the full extent of the brutality – we cannot bring ourselves to hear it. The pain of Kristy’s death is something which cannot be measured or calculated. Kristy was a fine young man, kind and considerate, much loved by his family and friends. We saw that he was becoming a man. We hoped that he would work with me in my carpentry business and one day take over. Kristy was also a role model to his siblings. The children are often quiet and alone in their rooms. We try to stay strong for them and Jacqueline and I are compelled to grieve alone so as not to distress the children”
Looking for another Christmas family horror story. Check out the story of Charles Lawson, who killed his whole family on Christmas.
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