Some men in the Congo fear that their penises have been stolen or shrunk by sorcerers. (Guys, you were born that way! You can’t blame your small size on a sorcerer!) Reports of penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, where witchcraft remains widespread, and things can get pretty violent as accusations fly. A decade ago, 12 suspected penis snatchers were beaten to death by angry mobs, so these days, police arrest suspected victims and sorcerers to prevent violence. “I’m tempted to say it’s one huge joke,” said Jean-Dieudonne Oleko, Kinshasa’s police chief. “But when you try to tell the victims that their penises are still there, they tell you that it’s become tiny or that they’ve become impotent. To that I tell them, ‘How do you know if you haven’t gone home and tried it’.” [Reuters]
