Maybe his penis had been stolen
"In January 1997, CNN reported on a series of deadly mob lynchings in Accra, Ghana, sparked by a panic over alleged "penis snatchers".
The article detailed how an angry mob beat at least seven accused "sorcerers" to death. The victims of the alleged theft claimed that these individuals could make their genitals shrink or completely disappear simply by touching them, subsequently extorting cash from them in exchange for a "cure". Local police and government officials heavily dismissed the supernatural claims, stating that the panic was actually orchestrated by thieves using fear tactics to scam people out of money.
Context Behind the Panic
This phenomenon is a heavily documented mass psychogenic illness known medically as Koro (or localized mass hysteria surrounding genital shrinkage). While the 1997 CNN report highlighted an early media broadcast of the issue, similar panics have periodically resurfaced across West, East, and Central Africa for decades
Democratic Republic of Congo (2008): A massive wave of panic hit Kinshasa, leading police to arrest 13 accused sorcerers to save them from being lynched by angry crowds.
Recent Social Media Resurgence (2025–2026): According to a BBC Global Disinformation Unit investigation, modern misinformation spreading rapidly on TikTok and Facebook has fueled a massive revival of these rumors. Over 80 people were killed across six African countries (including Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique) due to false "genital theft" accusations.
Medical professionals emphasize that it is physically impossible to steal or shrink a person's genitalia through physical contact or sorcery. Instead, the condition is rooted entirely in severe psychological anxiety, sociocultural stress, and the powerful nature of mass suggestion."
