With many families left traumatized by killings apparently linked to supposed magic rituals in Sierra Leone, BBC Africa Eye looks into those behind the trade in human body parts.
Warning: This article contains details some readers may find disturbing.
The mother of an 11-year-old boy murdered as part of a suspected black magic killing four years ago is devastated that no one has yet been brought to justice for his death.
Today I'm in pain. They killed my child and now there is just silence, Sallay Kalokoh told BBC Africa Eye, explaining how her son Papayo was found with parts of his body removed, including his vital organs, eyes, and one arm.
He had gone out to sell fish at the market and never came back. His family searched for him for two weeks and finally found his mutilated corpse at the bottom of a well.
We always tell our children to be careful. If you are selling, don't go to a corner or take gifts from strangers. It happens frequently in this country, Ms. Kalokoh said.
This murder in my hometown of Makeni, in central Sierra Leone, has haunted me as we often hear of reports of killings linked to black magic, also known as juju, that are never followed up or properly investigated by the authorities.
In Papayo's case, the police did not even confirm that it was a ritual killing - when a person is murdered so that parts of their body can be used in so-called magic rituals by illicit juju practitioners.
They promise things like prosperity and power to clients who pay large sums in the false belief that human body parts can make such charms more potent.
But with the authorities severely under-resourced - there is only one pathologist in a country that has a population of 8.9 million - it is often impossible to gather the evidence needed to track down the culprits.
Belief in witchcraft is also so deeply ingrained in Sierra Leone, even among many police officers, that there is often a fear of pursuing cases further - and most go unsolved.
But I wanted to find out more about this underground trade in human body parts that leaves tragedy in its wake.
Our BBC Africa Eye team was able to find two people who claimed they were juju practitioners and offered to obtain body parts for ritual purposes. Both said they were part of much larger networks - and one boasted that he had powerful clients across West Africa. The BBC was unable to verify these claims.
One member of our team went undercover, using the name Osman, to pose as a politician who wanted to achieve power through human sacrifice.
During visits to several secret locations, Osman met individuals who provided alarming insights into their illegal practices and connections to political figures, including evidence suggesting human remains were part of their rituals.
The investigation revealed that as Sierra Leone continues to deal with the legacy of its civil war and pervasive poverty, the haunting threat of ritual killings remains a pressing issue that demands critical attention and government response.
