The leader of Seychelles’ primary opposition party was charged as part of an inquiry into alleged witchcraft on Monday.
Patrick Herminie, the leader of the United Seychelles party who has expressed intentions to contest the 2025 presidential election, has decried the action as politically motivated.
Herminie, who is also a former speaker of parliament, was apprehended at his party’s headquarters on Friday. His office was subjected to a search before he was subsequently released.
On Monday, he and seven other individuals were officially charged at the Seychelles magistrates’ court as part of an investigation related to “witchcraft” and “unnatural and superstitious” activities.
“This is a political show by the president (Wavel Ramkalawan) to eliminate those who he knows will remove him from power in the 2025 elections,” Herminie was quoted by the Seychelles News Agency as saying after his arrest on Friday.
According to prosecutors, Herminie’s name was discovered in a WhatsApp message exchange with a Tanzanian individual who was apprehended in September, allegedly in possession of items associated with witchcraft, such as black wooden artefacts, small bottles containing a brownish liquid, and documents featuring language and symbols described as satanic.
This case is connected to an inquiry regarding the discovery in August of the exhumed remains of an elderly woman and a young man in a cemetery on the primary island of Mahe.
Furthermore, prosecutors have asserted that the symbols on the documents found in the Tanzanian’s possession bore a resemblance to those discovered at vandalised locations in Seychelles, including Catholic churches.
The court granted bail to Herminie and the other Seychellois defendants, with a bail amount of 30,000 Seychelles rupees (approximately $2,200), while the Tanzanian was instructed to remain in police custody.
A follow-up hearing in the case has been slated for November 3rd.
