Police in Uganda have arrested seven suspected witchdoctors after the headless body of a woman was found in a bush in the capital Kampala

A police spokeswoman said that shrines and fetishes had been destroyed in the operation. The spokeswoman said a special unit had been set up to deal with ritual murders and dissuade both traditional healers and the public from the practice. Some people believe potions made from human body parts will bring them luck. In neighboring Tanzania, people with albinism have been targeted for such ritual killings. But the body found in the Kampala suburb of Bwaise was not believed to have been an albino. Spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba also said that the police had had to protect the suspected leading witchdoctor after a lynch mob formed to kill him. The headless body was found near his residence, she said. She said that the police had been tipped off after two legs had been found in a pit latrine. Ms Nabakooba said ritual murders had become a problem in Uganda in recent months.