President Jammeh concedes witch hunting


6 June 2009 | Gambia / Cassamance
President Yaya Jammeh has admitted witch hunting allegations against his government. [1]
Jammeh has said that he believed witchcraft was behind his aunt's death December 27, 2008 [5], and has been inviting "witch doctors" from nearby Guinea to combat witches. Jammeh's aunt Aja Fatou Jammeh she passed away after suffering from a long illness at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital (RVTH) [4].
Amnesty International had called on the Gambian government to put an immediate stop to the campaign, investigate the incidents and bring those responsible to justice. [2]
On 03/14/2009 the Imam of the State House mosque, Alhaji Abdoulie Fatty has dismissed reports of alleged state sponsored 'witch hunting' in which more than a thousand people are reported to have been arrested, as wild rumors aimed at discrediting the government of president Yahya Jammeh. [3]
References:
[1] africanews.com - Gambia: President drops bombshell
[2] Amnesty International - Hundreds released as Gambian witch hunts end
[4] President Jammeh’s Aunt Passes away, Daily Observer, December 30, 2008
[5] Daily Observer, February 05, 2009
Related links:
Time to stop the abuse, Abena Ampofoa Asare, Pambazuka News, 14 May 2009
Witch hunts in Papua New Guinea, The Independent World, Unreported World: Bush Knives and Black Magic, Channel 4, tonight, 7.35pm, Friday, 8 May 2009

No comments:

Post a Comment