A CASE OF RITUAL CHILD MURDER IN GUINEA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000186 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV ASEC GV SUBJECT: A CASE OF RITUAL CHILD MURDER IN GUINEA ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On March 16 a young child related to an Embassy LES was abducted and brutally killed in what is believed to be a ritual murder. The child's throat was cut, his eyes removed and his abdomen slit open in a manner consistent with ritualistic ceremonies involving human sacrifice. The relative's willingness to discuss the details of his nephew's death provides a rare opportunity to document this deadly practice, which is generally considered tabou. Human rights contacts have indicated that the practice is widespread in Guinea, but it is very difficult to find concrete evidence to support this assertion. END SUMMARY. -------------- CHILD SACRIFICE IN CONAKRY -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In the late afternoon on March 16, a three-year old Guinean boy from a poor Conakry neighborhood was taken from his house and brutally murdered. His body was found in a ditch near his home less than 24 hours after he had been abducted. "Junior" Diallo's throat had been cut, his eyes removed, and his abdomen slit open. The manner of his death was immediately recognized by Guineans as a ritual murder. Rumors of ritual killings in Guinea had surfaced before and were an ongoing concern from a human rights perspective, but a lack of reliable information made it difficult to confirm the practice. When Junior's death became public at the Embassy, it provided a rare opportunity to document this deadly cultural practice that human rights contacts say is common throughout Guinea. Junior's uncle, an LES working in GSO, offered to share the details of his nephew's murder with Pol/Econ Chief and Poloff on March 19. ¶3. (SBU) LES received a call from his niece, a single mother, on March 16 around 6pm saying that she had discovered Junior missing when she arrived home from work and that neighbors were looking for him. The next morning at 10am, LES was informed that the child's body had been found and he left the Embassy to join his family. Arriving at the scene, the uncle saw the child's body in a ditch behind the house. He described the state of the corpse and the murder as having been committed within hours, and most likely within the immediate neighborhood due to the large quantity of blood in an adjacent area. ¶4. (SBU) When LES arrived at his niece's house the morning Junior's body was found, he stated that the notorious Lt.Claude Pivi and Secretary of State for Special Services, Anti-Narcotics, and Organized Crime, Captain Moussa Tiegboro, had already arrived at the scene and were questioning people. Surprised that a senior member of the government and Pivi would arrive at a murder scene so quickly, Poloff asked for clarification. LES said he did not know who had called them, but that Pivi's cell phone number is widely available. ¶5. (SBU) In describing his nephew's death, LES was visibly upset but answered every question without hesitation. One aspect of the murder seemed particularly inexplicable. When asked why someone would murder a child who would be immediately reported missing by their family, instead of an unfortunate street child whose absence might take days to discover, or never even be noted, LES said he had wondered the same thing. -------------- LINK TO ELECTIONS -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Open source reporting suggests that ritual murders are deeply rooted in many parts of Africa where sorcery, fetishism, and traditional beliefs continue to have a powerful influence on daily life both in urban and rural areas. LES stated, and conversations with other informal contacts corroborated, that ritual murders often occur before key elections. Those who request or carry out the murders believe that killing their victims so their body parts can be offered as sacrifice will give them magical powers to obtain political power and social success. -------------- COMMENTS -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Few reliable police statistics are kept in Guinea, so it is impossible to ascertain the number of ritual murders that occur, yet there is almost universal recognition among Guineans that this practice exists and is widespread. What is particularly troubling is the link between ritual killings and elections, power, and wealth -- topics that are under CONAKRY 00000186 002 OF 002 intense scrutiny in Guinea today. Political leaders in other West African nations, such as Sierra Leone and Liberia, have denounced such ritual killings. In Guinea, due to the lack of both governance and the rule of law, ritual practices such as these go unpunished. Furthermore, due to the tabou nature of the subject, it is a horrendous human rights issue that gets little attention, and indeed, is often difficult to verify. END COMMENT. RASPOLIC