CHAPTER 20

Witch Doctors and Witness Stands

Courage comes in all sizes.

Kabi was head of all the witch doctors in his region of Northern Uganda.

He was my age and had no hair on his head, no stubble on his face, and no
smile. It was like all the hate in his life had congregated on his face. It
was worn and stern, and his bloodshot eyes had a yellowish hue. Kabi was
the most evil person I’ve ever met.
An eight-year-old boy, who we’ll call Charlie, was walking home
from school when Kabi abducted him. Kabi took Charlie into the bush,
cut off his private parts, and left him for dead. But Charlie didn’t die.
Kabi was arrested a short time later, and for the first time in Uganda’s
history, we had one of the leaders of the witch doctors and a victim who
was alive.
Once I learned about Charlie, I immediately got on a plane to go see
my friend “The Chief.” Because we’d had the right conversation at the
right place on Tom Sawyer Island, I felt a huge sense of anticipation that
something big was unfolding. The plane couldn’t fly fast enough.
When I landed in Uganda, I drove several hours into the bush to meet
Charlie for the first time. Charlie was dressed in loose clothing and
looked down, afraid to make eye contact. He had been through much and
it showed. Earlier that day, Charlie had identified his attacker in a lineup
from a distance at the prison. I asked him a few questions, but it was clear
he was in no condition to talk. Our conversations would come much later.
After this first encounter with Charlie, I went to meet with a high
court justice to ask if he would be willing to have the case against Kabi