Murder, Witchcraft and the Killing of Wildlife: Memoirs of a Police Officer in the Heart of Africa
Feb 2020 · Pen and Sword True Crime
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248
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About this ebook
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
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
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 eth...
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About the author
Stephen was born in Guernsey, Channel Islands shortly before the outbreak of W.W.II and later illegally deported to concentration camps in Germany with his family. He describes these horrendous events in his book 'The Day The Nazis Came'. Following liberation by Free French Forces in 1945 the family returned to Guernsey where he was educated at Elizabeth College. He undertook his business training with Maple & Co Ltd of Tottenham Court Road and later joined the Northern Rhodesia Police (A British Protectorate) in 1959, with the express purpose of helping to Africanise the force prior to independence. He underwent a series of intensive courses in Criminal and Civil Law, African Languages and Para-military training. In five years of continuous service, Stephen was ambushed, stoned, knifed, attacked with a metal bar and seriously injured, wounded by bow and arrow and shotgun. He had his hand broken several times and his life was saved on several occasions by his dedicated team of African detectives and his loyal dog Alex, the Doberman (regarded as a witchdoctor by local tribesmen). Stephen was even threatened twice with Court Martial, however, he gained a plethora of awards and commendations and was finally granted early promotion as the youngest officer ever so promoted in any British Colonial Police Force. He met with Presidents, such as President Tsombe of Katanga, and he personally foiled a potential assassination attempt on the life of President-Elect, Kenneth Kaunda. He personally saved Wild Geese Mercenaries from being ambushed in the Congo, tracked down an International Terrorist, investigated several witchcraft murders, and dealt with cannibalism, and he even took part in the search for the downed aircraft of UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, still the subject of controversy to this day.
Stephen was born in Guernsey, Channel Islands shortly before the outbreak of W.W.II and later illegally deported to concentration camps in Germany with his family. He describes these horrendous events in his book 'The Day The Nazis Came'. Following liberation by Free French Forces in 1945 the fam...
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