By RFIPublished on 11-11-2019Modified 11-11-2019 at 00:27

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has started a one-month session on witch hunts. Under Yahya Jammeh, raids were carried out in villages against people accused of witchcraft. Nearly 1,000 people were reportedly arrested and tortured, according to Amnesty International.

The victims remember the buses that came to pick them up. They also tell these foreign marabouts, equipped with drums and mirrors supposed to spot the witches and witches. With the complicity of the police, the victims were designated and then thrown in a bus towards a place kept secret.

Yadicon Njie Eribo collected testimonies from women for the Truth Commission: " They beat them and made them drink a decoction. Most of them began to hallucinate after drinking the drink. For them, these hallucinations were proof that you were a witch . " Some people died after drinking this decoction. Those who are alive are still suffering from sequelae, according to Yadicon Njie Eribo. " They have many health problems. Some who were traders lost their livelihood, they are still referred to as witches and people avoid them. They are very stigmatized. "

According to Amnesty International , the witch hunt launched by these marabouts was initiated by former president Yahya Jammeh. The dictator, studded with superstitions, was indeed convinced that his aunt had died because of witchcraft. The NGO claims that the marabouts from neighboring Guinea were accompanied by " police, military and intelligence agents " as well as by " members of the Gambian President's personal guard ".

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