In parts of Africa, rainmakers face cruel violence by farmers as climate change vexes many

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on The Washington Post or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Traditional rainmakers across sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly targeted with violence as rainfall becomes erratic
• At least two have been killed in South Sudan in the past two years, Solomon Oture buried alive during a dry spell in 2024, and Albino Lobillia abducted and buried alive in June, according to witnesses
• In eastern Uganda, David Nabutsilili was chased until he fell and broke a femur after farmers who paid him for rain were flooded

🔭 The context: Rainmakers have long served as spiritual leaders performing rituals to summon or block rain, and are paid fees ranging from around $13 to $260
• Millions in Uganda and South Sudan depend on subsistence agriculture, so erratic weather destroys livelihoods directly
• Unlike priests or medicine men, rainmakers are sometimes suspected of causing harm deliberately, and the payment creates a quid pro quo that fuels violence when refunds are refused

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: A study last year in the International Journal of Environment and Climate Change found average annual rainy days in South Sudan's Kapoeta region fell from 90 in the 1980s to 46 by the mid-2010s, with rain arriving suddenly and intensely when it comes
• REACH Initiative researcher Joris Gasper says communities in flood-prone areas have spent recent years alternating between losing crops to floods and to drought
• Local official Matthew Oromo attributes the violence partly to people not understanding climate change, making adaptation a question of explanation as much as infrastructure

⏭️ What's next: Namatsokha village recently went weeks without rain in what locals described as one of the driest spells they had known
• Nabutsilili says he must temporarily flee home when he fails to meet expectations

💬 One quote: "We are having difficulties because, sometimes when it is supposed to rain, it doesn't rain. So we use our powers to try and bring it, but it doesn't come as it used to come in those days" — Kilindon Simiyu, rainmaker, Namatsokha, Uganda

📈 One stat: Average annual rainy days in the Kapoeta region fell from 90 in the 1980s to 46 by the mid-2010s.

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