Cameroon: Witchcraft and Justice

27 April 2009

In December 2008, the American newspaperStar Tribune reported that a woman of Cameroon origin had filed a lawsuit in a US Federal Court accusing another woman for using voodoo to steal her man and ruin her life. By February the woman had withdrawn the case citing the power of prayer as the final sword in her battle to regain "her man". This affair drew a mix of contempt, ridicule and sympathy for her, as it seemedabsurd that one would dare to file such a case in a court of law.

If this woman had been well advised she would have simply taken the case to the land of her forefathers. Article 251 of the Cameroon penal code provides that anyone found guilty of practising sorcery could be punished with imprisonment for up to 10 years and fined 100,000 FCFA ($200). All she neededto do would have been to prove her allegations.Well, that's where things become awkward. How do you prove the existence of what is essentially supernatural?

...

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.