Seychelles’ principal opposition figure, Patrick Herminie, has been relieved of witchcraft allegations as prosecutors opted to dismiss the case against him.
Consistently denying the accusations, Herminie denounced them as “malicious actions” following a court appearance on Thursday.
The charges stemmed from the uncovering of two bodies exhumed from a cemetery on Mahé Island, as stated by the police.
Looking ahead, Mr. Herminie intends to contest the 2025 presidential election representing the United Seychelles Party.
“We do not have the right to arrest someone and put them in prison for nothing at all,” he said.
The president has not commented on the case.
Mr Herminie served as the Speaker of Seychelles’ parliament between 2007 and 2016.
The prosecutor told a magistrates’ court in the capital, Victoria, that he was withdrawing all charges against him.
No reasons were given for the decision.
The president has remained silent on the matter.
Mr. Herminie previously held the position of Speaker in Seychelles’ parliament from 2007 to 2016.
During a session at the magistrates’ court in Victoria, the prosecutor declared the withdrawal of all charges against him.
No explanations were provided for this decision.
Last October, Mr. Herminie and six Seychellois co-accused were released on bail.
They had been accused of possessing items intended for witchcraft use, conspiring to practice witchcraft, and engaging in services related to witchcraft, as reported by local media.
Originally, prosecutors alleged that Mr. Herminie’s name surfaced in a WhatsApp exchange between a Seychellois individual and a Tanzanian suspect apprehended at the main international airport last September.
Seychelles abandons witchcraft case against opposition figure Patrick Herminie
The Tanzanian was found with items allegedly related to witchcraft, including stones, black wooden artefacts, small bottles of brownish liquid, a collection of powders and documents with strange language and “demonic and satanic” symbols, they said.
According to prosecutors, the documents resembled those discovered in vandalized Catholic churches and other locations on Mahé, Seychelles’ largest island.
Apart from Mr. Herminie, four others involved in the initial case are no longer being prosecuted.
As reported by the Seychelles News Agency, a fresh case has been initiated against the Tanzanian individual and two others.
Last year, Mr. Herminie informed local media that over 40 police officers had conducted a raid on his party’s offices in Victoria.
He added that the officers searched for items related to witchcraft, including “bones, body parts, and objects associated with Christianity” but did not find any.
“In Seychelles’ history, there has never been until now, a political party leader arrested for superstition and witchcraft. This is something new and it is shameful for Seychelles,” he was quoted as saying at the time.