OPPOSITION LEADER CHARGED WITH SPYING AND SEDITION

C O N F I D E N T I A L BANJUL 000079


C O R R E C T E D COPY ( DECLAS DATE ADDED)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/14/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV GA
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION LEADER CHARGED WITH SPYING AND SEDITION

Classified by Amb. Barry L. Wells, Reasons 1.4(b) and (d)

Summary
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1. (C) On Wednesday, March 11, 2009, opposition politician and former
presidential candidate Mr. Halifa Sallah appeared in court charged with
spying, acting with seditious intent and leading a procession without a
police permit. Sallah was arrested March 8 and is likely to remain in
detention because of the tough bail conditions set by the magistrate
which are virtually impossible for Sallah to meet. Currently held a
Mile 2 Prison he is reportedly also being denied visitors including his
wife. His arrest was probably related to his efforts to expose and
criticize the activities of a team of witchdoctors who have, with the
apparent support of government security forces, been detaining people
they accuse of practicing magic and forcing them to disavow witchcraft
and pledge loyalty to the president over the past two months. The
implications for press freedom and political rights are grim and post
is seeking opportunities to raise this issue with the government in a
productive way. Unhappiness about the witch hunting campaign is also
growing and could potentially lead to political unrest, even in
generally calm Banjul.

Sallah's Arrest
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2. (U) Sallah is the Coordinator of the National Alliance for
Democracy and Development (NADD) and was its presidential candidate in
September 2006. He is the publisher of the opposition newspaper,
"Foroyaa", which over the past two months has carried numerous reports
of the activities of a team of Guinean witchdoctors reportedly hired by
President Jammeh to identify so-called "witches" and civil servants
disloyal to his administration.
Some members of the security services and many private citizens have
been detained in this campaign according to news reports and eyewitness
accounts, including a report from a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer.
Forayaa has reported extensively on the witch-hunting campaign, with
sensationalist headlines, and it has filled online newspapers run by
Gambians overseas, but other media outlets have largely ignored the
campaign, probably due to fear of government reaction.


3. (U) Sallah was arrested at his home on March 8 by plainclothes
security officers, and held in detention until his court appearance on
March 11, when he was charged with "spying, acting with seditious
intent and leading a procession without a police permit". The
Nigerian-born magistrate presiding over the trial, Kayode Olagubutu,
set Sallah's bail bond at one million dalasi (USD38,461) to be
undertaken by three notable Gambians who must be a retired Brigadier
General, a former Inspector General of Police (IGP) and a village
chief. These conditions make it virtually impossible for Sallah, as
current Armed Forced Chief Tamba is the only military officer ever to
achieve the rank of General in many years, and he is not retired. It
would also be extremely unlikely for a former IGP (of which there are
only a few in The Gambia) to come forward to vouch for Sallah in this
politically charged case.


4. (U) On March 8, Sallah went to the villages of Makumbaya and
Jamburr where previously the witchdoctors, escorted by armed military
personnel and militant young supporters of the governing party called
"the Green Boys and Girls" took away several people they reportedly
identified as witches for "cleansing". According to "Foroyaa", 60
people, many of old age, were taken away from Jamburr on January 28 and
held for several days at a house in Kotu. There they say they were
forcibly bathed and made to drink an unknown liquid concoction. The
Imam of the village, Arfang Karamo Bojang, who was one of the
abductees, told the newspaper that he refused to drink the unknown
liquid. He said all those who drank the liquid became drowsy or
unconscious. Foroyaa also reported that an old lady named Isatou
Badjie of Makumbaya, died on February 4 at the Royal Victoria Teaching
Hospital in Banjul three days after she was released by the
witchdoctors who took her way along with other people from the village.


5. (U) Sallah first spoke out against the rituals at a news conference
on February 10, at which he urged the government to investigate and
stop the activities of the witchdoctors. He said he was prompted to
speak out after the son of a female detainee, one Jonyi Sonko of Essau
village, narrated his mother's ordeal. Foroyaa has also carried
interviews with several people in the village of Essau, who say they
were arrested against their will and subjected to the ritual.

Witch-Hunting, Jammeh Style
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6. (U) According to media sources, the team of witchdoctors arrived in
The Gambia in early January and immediately set to work in the
President's home village of Kanilai. They later reportedly moved to
the capital Banjul where they visited a number of government offices
and security installations to perform their rituals.


7. (U) According to eyewitness accounts related to POL/ECON FSNs and
to press reports, the group is led by a middle-aged man dressed in a
frightening red outfit from head to toe. On arrival at a place to be
"cleansed", the witchdoctors beat sacred drums and slaughtered a bull
or a goat while the team leader recited certain words and poured some
liquid on the ground before calling forward those he suspects of
witchcraft for screening. Witnesses do not know what criteria he uses
to make his selections, but he does tend to select older people,
including a fair number of highly-respected village leaders. He then
orders his suspects to untie their jujus (fetishes worn by many
Gambians) from their bodies and then begins to recount what he alleges
are "unhealthy activities" by the suspects. According to these
witnesses, the man then forced them to drink an unknown liquid
concoction and made civil servants swear loyalty and allegiance to
President Jammeh and his government. They are reportedly threatened
with severe consequences for breaking the oath.


8. (U) For suspected "witches", the team leaders reportedly soak their
heads in an unknown liquid and order them to confess all their "evil"
doings. They are then arrested and taken to various locations, where
they are sometimes held several hours or even several days before being
released. There are no reports yet that anyone has been formally
charged in relation to this campaign.


9. (U) The witchdoctors have reportedly already carried out their
rituals at the Gambia Police Force headquarters, the Gambia Navy, the
Department of Immigration, the national electricity and water company
NAWEC, the state-owned telecommunications company GAMTEL, the Kanifing
Municipal Council, some local markets, and several villages in the
Western part of The Gambia.


10. (U) According to Foroyaa, several people, including butchers at
the main abattoir in Abuko who have been labeled as "witches" and some
civil servants accused of engagement in "unhealthy activities" that
threaten the government, have been arrested. On January 20, one FSN saw
a group of women said to be self-confessed witches bundled into a
waiting bus outside a former government residence in the town of Bakau,
seven kilometers outside Banjul.


11. (C) On March 9 a PC volunteer stationed upcountry reported that
the witch-hunting campaign had visited his village, and that frightened
villagers had urged him to hide their children. PC volunteers have
been advised not to get involved in what could be a volatile situation.


Government Involvement
--------------


12. (C) The GOTG has remained silent on the issue despite the
continuous reports in Foroyaa and several online newspapers run by
Gambian dissidents based overseas. Officials the Embassy has asked
about it have declined to comment or said they know nothing about it.
However, credible reports indicate the witchdoctors are being driven
around in government vehicles and are escorted by security officers in
uniform and other security agents as well as militants from the
President's APRC party. The Embassy intends to continue to raise the
issues of press freedom and illegal arrests and detentions with our
GOTG contacts, and is looking for an appropriate public way to
highlight the importance of freedom of expression, perhaps in concert
with the UK High Commission.

Comment
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13. (C) The arrest of Sallah, following as closely as it does the
arrest of Pap Saine, is sharp blow to freedom of expression in The
Gambia. We are also concerned at the return to prominence of the
"Green Boys", who have a grim reputation for political dirty work and
intimidation in the early years of Jammeh?s reign. It is unclear
whether the government merely intends to intimidate Sallah and Saine or
really intends to imprison them, but either is a negative development.
Jammeh has tolerated criticism from the Forayaa newspaper for many
years, perhaps because the tiny NADD party and Sallah offer no
realistic threat to his government, but that toleration has clearly
come to an end, given the severity of the charges against Sallah. Much
of the reporting on the witchhunting campaign is sensationalist and of
dubious credibility, but enough credible testimony has emerged that we
have little doubt something significant is going on. Our local staff
and some of our other Gambian contact are more agitated by this than by
anything else in the last few years, perhaps because, in targeting
respected elders, the witch-hunters are striking a cultural nerve.
Some have even spoken about the possibility of political unrest if the
campaign does not come to a stop, hard as that is to imagine in placid
Banjul, where everyone smiles and conflict is avoided at almost all
costs. We are unsure what is behind the witch-hunting campaign and
trying to get an answer will be difficult, as no one official is
willing to discuss it, but we will continue trying. However, it is
clear that Jammeh is not prepared to tolerate criticism of his
government and himself, and is willing to take harsh measures to
silence critics.

WELLS