The Effects of Witchcraft on the Well-Being of High School Students in Nairobi, Kenya and Their Implications for Educational Leadership

Abstract

Witchcraft is an enigma in many societies of the world today with some denying it exists while most belief in its existence and are influenced by it to a large extent. In many education institutions, especially high schools, witchcraft is mostly blamed for students’ hysteric behavior, sudden drop in school attendance, and other real or imagined behavior such as hearing of invisible compulsive voices, appearances or actions of supernatural beings that cause students to faint and/or convulse, speak strangely under the influence of supernatural powers and hallucinate, among other weird behaviors. These episodes are reportedly resolved by involvement of demon exorcists, intercessors and even stronger “witchdoctors” and other “higher” supernatural powers to negate the effects of witchcraft. In some institutions, these episodes are recurrent. The aim of this paper was to investigate the effects of witchcraft, including witchcraft accusations and witchcraft imaginations, on the academic, social-economic and spiritual welfare of high school students (adolescents). Data was collected from a purposeful sample of ten (10) students and four (4) teachers who were known to have been witnesses of such experiences in a private high school in the environs of Nairobi. It is the hope of the author that findings of the study will empower school administrators and leaders to mitigate the effects of real or imagined witchcraft.

Keywords: Witchcraft, Adolescents, Educational leadership, Students’ well-being, Witchdoctors, Supernatural