Why Was Kristy Bamu Murdered On Christmas By His Sister?
By: Charmaine Wilding
Tags: Murder, Witchcraft, True Crime, Crime, Torture

This story depicts the incredibly heartbreaking murder of Kristy Bamu and gut-retching torture of him and his siblings leading up to Christmas day by their eldest sister Magalie Bamu and her boyfriend Eric Bikubi.

Backstory:

Magalie Bamu and Eric Bikubi were jailed for life for torturing and drowning Kristy Bamu. Photograph: Metropolitan police/PA

On February 21st, 1983 in Zaire; previously known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Magalie Bamu was born to her parents Pierre and Jacqueline. The family then moved to Paris, with Pierre opening his carpentry business designing and manufacturing furniture. He later moved him and his wife back to Congo to continue the business and 13-year-old Magalie was left to live with her mother’s niece Pheobe and her husband Ferdinand in Dagenham, East London. She was treated horribly, like a slave.

Later in her life she met Eric Bikubi through a mutual friend and the two hit it off instantly. He was a football coach and the relationship started off great, but it did not last long. Unfortunately, Eric became extremely controlling, verbally abusive and refused to let her wear make-up or see her friends.

Eric Bikubi was also born in Congo in 1983, his mother died during childbirth. Throughout his life his father taught him about a type of witchcraft called kindoki; which was widely believed in Congo to be responsible for child possessions. When a child is pointed out, usually by a religious leader or elder, as possessing kindoki steps would be taken to rid the child of the evil spirit that was possessing them. This included: beatings, salvation submissions, water deprivation and continuous prayer without food. It is believed during the possession this evil spirit has taken over the child, so they are unable to feel the pain from the horrible mutilations and beatings, which is obviously not the case. Simple things children do are viewed as indications of kindoki possession such as wetting the bed, biting your nails, and stealing a pencil. Very ordinary things with an extremely dangerous consequence.

During their relationship, Eric would talk about the visions he would have as a child like seeing rats that were never there. Much like Magalies family Eric and his Uncle fled Congo in 1990 to escape the war there and settled in London and his Uncle would talk more with him about kindoki and witchcraft before he passed away. Throughout their relationship Magalie said he grew more obsessed with sorcery and witchcraft and began having dreams of his brother killing him. To rid himself of what he believed to be evil spirits, he moved around London to many different apartments to outrun these spirits, but this did not work so he began consulting Nigerian pastors for help.

Listen to this podcast to learn more on kindoki https://www.barnardos.org.uk/podcast/witchcraft-mardoche-yembi

Christmas 2010: Torture and Murder

Kristy Bamu (bottom) pictured with his siblings Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/Xqm9v8FhA8t7SqiR6

Early in 2010, Eric proposed to Magalie which made her siblings even more excited to come from Paris to London to visit the couple for Christmas. According to Kelly Bikubi (20-year-old sister) everything started off very well for the first couple of days but suddenly it turned sour when Eric and Magalie began accusing all five siblings of being possessed with kindoki. Other than Kelly all the siblings were born and raised in Paris, so they were extremely confused and pled against the accusations, nevertheless the torture began.

The siblings were made to pray constantly, they were refused food and drink, beaten and Eric even forced them to jump out a window to see if they could fly. Kelly said no matter how much they begged him to stop torturing them it was clear his mind was made up and he genuinely believed the siblings had travelled to London to kill him. This was someone they looked up to for protection and safety, but their 29-year-old sister was allowing this to happen. Eventually, Kelly and her 11-year-old sister confessed to being witches to avoid the beatings which worked for them. Woefully, this did not work for Kristy.

The same night of the sister’s confession Kristy was beaten and involuntarily wet himself, once Eric found his underwear, he took this as a sign that Kristy was the one who bought the kindoki into his house and began to focus on him; even encouraging the other siblings to join in. They were forced to restrain Kirsty whilst his sister Magalie smashed bathroom tiles on his back, hit his hands with a hammer, used a knife to make cuts all over his body and used pliers to mutilate one of his ears. For 3 ½ days this torture continued resulting in 130 separate injuries. On the fourth day, Christmas eve, Kristy was begging and pleading for his sister Magalie to just let him die. Eric began forcing the siblings to clean the blood from the apartment whilst playing loud music and screaming at them which led to a noise complaint from a neighbor, but the complaint was not followed up.

Brutal: Blood is splashed across the ceramic tiles used to attack Kristy (Image: PA)

Later that night, Eric made a call to Pierre and Jacqueline telling them Kristy was possessed and if they did not come to Kristy, he would kill him. At first the parents were in disbelief, but they suddenly began panicking trying to organize a rental for the 6-hour car journey from Paris to London. Whilst the parents made this journey Eric and Magalie forced all five children into the bathtub and started hosing them down with icy water as a cleansing ritual. As a result of the 3 ½ days of torture, alongside the sleep deprivation and 130 injuries Kristy was mentally and physically exhausted on the 25th December 2010 his head slipped under the water. The couple called the ambulance and the paramedics arrived at the scene taking him to the hospital to resuscitate him, but he was already dead. At 8:00pm that night Kelly Bamu called her father and informed him her brother… his son Kristy was dead.

Eric and Magalie were arrested at once and charged with murder and two counts of actual bodily harm.

The trial

They both pled guilty to actual bodily harm on the grounds of diminished responsibility caused by brain damage, but this was rejected, and the case had to go to jury trial. The jury consisted of seven women and five men, the judge said due to the gruesome evidence of these horrific crimes they were excused from serving jury duty again. Eric’s defense claimed his brain injury, his cultural upbringing and schizophrenia diminishes his responsibility for his actions. Magalie’s defense argued she was manipulated as she did not believe in witchcraft. Kelly however testified against her sister and had no pity for her as she spoke of the lack of remorse from her sister whilst her and her siblings begged her to stop as she brutally beat and tortured them.

A court artist’s drawing of Eric Bikubi and Magalie Bamu. Illustration: Julia Quenzler/Central News

At the trial a young woman, Naomi Ilonga and her boyfriend stayed with the couple two years prior to the murder in 2008 and was accused of being possessed due to her biting her nails. The three days that she stayed with them Eric refrained her from eating and sleeping. He and Magalie would sit and pray with her. Her hair that was previously down to the middle of her back was forcibly cut short to release the kindoki. Luckily, she called her Mum to rescue her and she was able to get away. Unfortunately, for Magalie this resulted in punishment for allowing her to leave and Eric forced her to eat off the floor and gave her a black eye, so she went to stay in a women’s refuge. Unbeknownst to her family three months later they got back together, moved into Manor house, and got engaged.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jan/06/murder-suspect-witchcraft-accusation

Eric Bikubi was eventually sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison and Magalie was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years. The judge told the couple that case was very sadistic and the belief in witchcraft however genuine cannot excuse the assault and killing of any other human being.