Seychelles: Opposition politician accused of ‘witchcraft’ acquitted

Charges of “witchcraft” that have been leveled since early October against the leader of Seychelles’ main opposition party, Patrick Herminie, have been dropped, the Victorian prosecutor’s office said on Thursday.

During the indictment, Patrick Herminie, leader of the United Seychelles party and a candidate in the 2025 presidential election, denounced the political decision. “I am withdrawing all charges against Patrick Herminie,” the Victoria prosecutor’s office said. Charges were dropped against five of the eight accused, the prosecution added. “There is no case against me, what happened was just a bad move,” Patrick Herminie told reporters after leaving the court. Patrick Herminie, along with six other Seychellois and Tanzanian nationals, had been charged as part of an investigation into “witchcraft” as well as “unnatural practices and superstitions”. The case is linked to the discovery in August of the bodies of an elderly woman and a young man exhumed from a cemetery on the main island of Mahé. The name of Mr. Herminie, who was the speaker of the Parliament between 2007 and 2016, was found on the phone of the Tanzanian citizen, who was arrested at the end of September last year at the international airport of Seychelles with stones and a small bottle full of brown water, various powders and several documents with language and symbols described as satanic, local media in Seychelles said. Prosecutors have said markings on the documents are similar to others found at damaged sites on the islands, including Catholic churches.