In Pictures

Gallery|Human Rights

In Pictures: The witch hunts of Bangui

Elderly people in the war-torn Central African Republic are being accused of witchcraft, with fatal consequences.

Hélène Ndenjia, charged with witchcraft, looks through the window of her house in Bangui. Hélène was accused of sorcery by her own nephew: the son of her sister believes that Hélène is the cause of hi
Helene Ndenjia does not know how old she is, but she knows that she was accused of sorcery by her nephew. He believes that she is responsible for his mother's - Helene's sister's - illness. Since the charge was formalised by the district chief, Helene lives imprisoned in the house she inherited from her father in the Bakongo district of the capital, Bangui. She lives in fear of being killed. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
By Marco Simoncelli and Davide Lemmi
Published On 24 Mar 2020

Bangui, Central African Republic – For the past eight years, the Central African Republic (CAR) has been the theatre of a brutal civil war that has left its economy in tatters, its institutions in ruins and its people traumatised. 

Laurent Gomina-Pampali, a professor at the University of Bangui who has previously been the country’s minister of foreign affairs, minister of human rights and minister of justice, believes it is this disintegration of the country’s social fabric that is responsible for a growing phenomenon: witch-hunts. 

Elderly people – normally women – are increasingly being accused of practicing witchcraft – and being killed for it. 

Often, the accusations come from within the families of the accused. 

“The accusation of witchcraft is a sentence without appeal,” explains Nadia Carine Fornel Poutou, the president of the Association des Femmes Juristes de Centrafrique, an association of female lawyers and advocates in CAR. “The Central African penal code is unable to establish what witchcraft is. Being a mystical matter, the authorities do not intervene.”

As a result, the accused have only two ways to survive such an accusation. The first is to lock themselves in their homes and hope to be forgotten about. The second is to try to be taken to prison.

In Bimbo, a women’s prison in the capital, Bangui, many of the detainees are there voluntarily; some because they are fleeing accusations of witchcraft. 

But, Fornel Poutou explains, if being imprisoned helps to save them from being killed, it also exposes them to other dangers. “Someone accused of witchcraft may be a victim of violence by the prison guards and by other detainees,” she says. 

Nathalie Koutou is the head of the psychiatry department at the General Hospital in Bangui and says the tens of thousands of people suffering from trauma as a result of the conflict are particularly susceptible to accusations of witchcraft. But there is little the hospital can do to help. “We’ve got just one psychiatrist for the whole country [of 4.5 million people] and the cases are increasing,” she explains.

For people like Kamer Gabriel, an elderly man accused by one of his children, there is little help available. “We are alone. They leave us alone. I have fear. I cannot even go outside of the house,” he says. “If I’m still alive it’s just because my nephews chose to live with me.”

Hélène Ndejia looks at me the first time we met, in her house. She is scared and she feels embarrassed and ashamed after being charged with witchcraft. Hélène feels really ashamed: being accused of wi
Helene says she feels embarrassed and ashamed after being charged with witchcraft. Before the trial she used to go to church every week but she cannot go anymore. The verdict does not weigh only on her. She knows that her children and her nephews will also suffer the consequences of it and she is worried for them. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
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Kamer Gabriel, accused of witchcraft, in his house in Bangui, observed by one of his nephews. Mr Kamer is accused of witchcraft. The accusation came as a result of his age. Since the accusation was mo
Since Kamer Gabriel was accused of witchcraft, people in the neighbourhood frequently throw things at his house. His sons have abandoned him, but his nephews have moved in with him to protect him. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
Kamer Gabriel while reflecting on the accusation, after an interview. He is very sad and scared because of the charge. He fears he’s going to be killed. “When I was young - Kamer says - elders were co
Kamer fears that he will be killed. "When I was young elders were considered wise men," he says. "They were untouchable. Nowadays, on the contrary, young people see us as witches who are to be eliminated. And the only reason is because of our age." [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
Thérèse Yambissi shows a folder containing documents from the Church, in which she is described as a good Catholic, in her house in Bangui. Thérèse was charged of witchcraft because of her age. She ig
Therese Yambissi holds a folder containing documents from the Church, in which she is described as a good Catholic. She has not been able to leave her home in Bangui since she was charged with witchcraft. She hopes that, should people in her neighbourhood try to lynch her, they will stop when she shows them the documents. Therese can no longer attend her church because of the accusations. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
Martine Rengapou return immediately inside her house in Bangui because people in the street are yelling at her. Martine never goes far from her home, she risks to be killed. When somebody attack her b
Martine Rengapou rushes into her house in Bangui as people outside yell at her. She never ventures far from her home and knows that, since she has been accused of witchcraft, to do so could result in her being killed. She has been abandoned by her family and now lives alone. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
Martine Rengapou looking outside her house in Bangui. She is constantly victim of harassment and attacks by young people of the neighborhood. She tells the accusation of witchcraft is an indelible sta
Martine says she is constantly harassed and attacked by young people in her neighbourhood and that the accusation of witchcraft has left an indelible stain on her reputation. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
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Women charged of sorcery waiting inside Bimbo’s prison, Bangui. In Bimbo’s prison more than 85% of the prisoners are charged of witchcraft. It’s a very common thing that women accused of sorcery ask t
Women charged with sorcery wait inside Bimbo prison in Bangui. Very often the accused ask to be arrested to avoid being killed by their community. But they can still face grave dangers in jail, including rape. And some smaller prisons have been attacked by members of the public looking for those accused of witchcraft. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
Marc Sandoumbé in the place where he judges people charged of sorcery in Bangui, Fatima district. Marc Sandoumbé is Chief District of Fatima, and the man who judges witchcraft cases in the capital. He
Marc Sandoumbe sits in the square where, as chief of the district of Fatima in Bangui, he judges people accused of sorcery. If the accused does not confess and there is no minor to testify, which is considered unequivocal proof, Sandoumbe uses potions in order to reach a verdict. If he rules that the accused is guilty, he calls the police to take them away before they can be lynched by the crowd. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
Marc Sandoumbé and his bodyguard are walking through the Fatima district. Marc Sandoumbé is not just the Chief District of Fatima, but also the man who judges witchcraft cases in the capital. Nowdays,
Marc Sandoumbe and his bodyguard walk through the Fatima district. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
“Atatoro" is considered one of the most powerful sorcerer in Bangui. Atatoro is specialized in the disappearance of the enemies of those who ask for his service. The cost of his services are very high
'Atatoro' is considered one of the most powerful sorcerers in Bangui. He specialises in making peoples' enemies disappear. The costs of his services are very high. His practices are accepted and he is not persecuted for them. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
“Twelve” powers is another sorcerer of Bangui. He extracts a ring from an egg during his magical practice. “Twelve Powers” is specialized in creation of gri gri, talismans that are able to protect fro
'Twelve Powers' is another sorcerer in Bangui. He extracts a ring from an egg during his magical practice. He specialises in creating gri gri, talismans that protect their wearers from bullets. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
Natalie Koutou is a nurse and the head of the psychiatry department of the general hospital in Bangui. In Central African Republic there is just one psychiatrist for the whole country. According to Na
Natalie Koutou is a nurse and the head of the psychiatry department of the General Hospital in Bangui. She believes that the multiple crises in the country have aggravated the situation, leaving many people who have suffered trauma susceptible to accusations of witchcraft. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
The psychiatric ward of bangui central hospital is the only department in the whole country. Many people who suffered psychiatric trauma refuse to seek treatment to avoid the stigma that derives from
The psychiatric ward of Bangui General Hospital is the only one of its kind in the whole country. Many people who have suffered psychiatric trauma refuse to seek treatment, as mental illness is often conflated with witchcraft. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]
Daily life in one of the Christian neighbourhoods of Bangui. As a consequence of the civil war, the prices of food are growing and, in general, the domestic economic is in crisis. According to experts
Food prices have gone up as a result of the civil war and experts believe high rates of poverty and hunger have greatly contributed to the social disintegration that has, in turn, led to accusations of witchcraft against the elderly. [Ugo Lucio Borga/Al Jazeera]