This study examined the alleged prevalence of Satanism in Zambia, with a particular reference to the Kabwe District during the period 2010-2013. The overall objective was to ascertain the claims and speculations on the alleged prevalence of Satanism in the district of Kabwe. The claims about the alleged prevalence of Satanism and the satanic scare were found by this study to be a reality in Kabwe, with eighty-eight per cent (88%) of the respondents acknowledging the alleged prevalence of the phenomenon. People’s knowledge of Satanism was mainly through rumours, messages from Churches and the electronic media. Studies on rumours (by Stephen Ellis, Gerrie Ter Haar and Jeffrey Victor) have shown that rumours can be investigated in the search for facts, especially rumours that offer plausible explanations for people’s shared anxieties. The above mentioned scholars argue that with efforts at corroboration, such as by interviewing key informants, the researcher can seek credibility on prevailing rumours by verifying or dismissing mere rumours from true stories. The assertions from scholars above justified the use of rumours as a methodological tool in this study. From sources of information the study relied on, claims about the alleged prevalence of Satanism in the district were investigated. The study refuted the satanic claims in a number of cases that were analysed, because they were mostly based on ‘pious legends’ hence lacked objective evidence. From the few incidents that suggested the prevalence of Satanism, there were still two basic problems faced in assessing their credibility: the first being the difficulty in determining the reliability of the confessions from informants who in this case either claimed they were ex-Satanists or served on behalf of Satanists. The second problem consisted in what seemed to be the inconsistency in the explanations of motives behind human killings found in the ritual murders. Some explanations did not suggest satanic motives. One example of refuted claims concerned the two locations within Kabwe district which were highly rumoured to be sites for Satanists, which were found by this study to be Freemasonry Lodges, contrary to what was rumoured.From the findings of this study, it was believed that people joined Satanism either because of the greedy for riches or to avoid poverty. It was also believed that other peoples joined Satanism unconsciously through luring methods used by Satanists. The study also found the satanic scare to have effects on the lives of people in the district. For example, it caused some people to become more committed Christians in their defence against the alleged satanic forces. Because people had associated riches to Satanism, certain individuals avoided getting rich for fear of being labelled ‘Satanists’. / Religious Studies and Arabic / D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

Comment comprendre qu’un bébé naissant doté de vitalité et de potentialités à l’humanité, devienne un jour tueur en série ? Cette thèse propose une étude de la psychogenèse de la violence du tueur en série, à travers les cinq périodes qui structurent le développement humain : archaïque, infantile, latence, adolescence, adulte. Elle s’appuie sur un cas clinique et sur du matériel expertal. Ma réflexion s’ouvre par un parallèle avec la clinique du génocide, qui conduit à définir la criminalité des tueurs en série comme un crime contre l’Humain, invitant dès lors à reconstruire les différentes étapes de la déstructuration de leur processus d’humanisation. Le contexte d’émergence de cette criminalité est situé dans la rencontre avec un environnement parental impitoyable qui a désorganisé doublement, chez le bébé, l’appropriation de l’identité humaine héritée génétiquement mais aussi la construction de l’identité subjective construite au fil de l’enfance. La criminalité du tueur en série est envisagée comme une « organisation défensive » dirigée contre une « agonie primitive » spécifique (ou « angoisse impensable ») qui a « offensé » le potentiel à l’humanité du bébé, dans la lignée des théories de D. W. Winnicott. La violence du tueur en série est étudiée grâce à une construction théorico-clinique créée sur mesure, mais elle est aussi resituée dans le cadre plus large de l’inhumanité de l’humain. Surtout, cette thèse a le souci constant de proposer une réflexion accessible au lecteur néophyte en quête de réponses (victimes, familles de victimes, professionnels de terrain peu habitués à la terminologie psychanalytique). / How shall we understand that a new born baby full of life and ready to embrace humanity might become one day a serial killer ? The purpose of this thesis is to study the psychogenesis of the serial killer violence through the analysis of the five key stages which are structuring human devel-opment : archaic stage, childish stage, latency stage, teenage & adult stages. This work is based on a clinical case and experts’ documents.My work is starting with a comparison with the clinical analysis of a genocide, which is de-fining serial killers’ criminality as a crime against humankind, and therefore leading us to rebuilding the different steps of their humanity breakdown process. The context, in which this criminality is emerging, lays in the confluence with a ruthless parental environment which has disorganized both the baby’s ownership of the genetically inherited human identity and the construction of a subjective identity. The serial killer criminality is considered as a “defense organization” aimed at protecting against a specific “primitive agony” (or “unthinkable anxiety”) which has “offended” the baby’s potential to humanity – in line with D.W. Winnicott’s theories.The serial killer’s violence is studied using a custom made theoretical and clinical construction, but it is also considered in the wider scope of human inhumanity. More importantly, this thesis aims at providing analysis and understanding which are accessible to neophyte readers looking for answers (victims and their families, field experts not used to psychoanalytic terminology).