How Did Seychelles' Witchcraft Case Unravel?

Introduction

The 2023–24 witchcraft prosecution became one of the most unusual and politically charged criminal cases in modern Seychelles. It began with a police investigation into a Tanzanian national found carrying objects that investigators associated with witchcraft and later expanded to include several Seychellois, among them Patrick Herminie, leader of the main opposition party. The case quickly attracted international attention because it appeared to combine criminal allegations involving supernatural practices with intense political rivalry. Yet as the proceedings unfolded, many of the most dramatic public claims remained unproven, procedural problems emerged, and all charges against Herminie were eventually withdrawn. The episode is therefore significant less as evidence of an organised occult conspiracy than as an example of how fears surrounding supernatural beliefs, criminal law and partisan politics can become intertwined.

From disturbed graves to mass arrests

Public concern developed against the backdrop of reports that graves on Mahé had been disturbed, prompting rumours that ritual activity might be involved. Around the same period, police arrested Tanzanian national Alli Said at Seychelles International Airport after reporting that he possessed wooden artefacts, stones, bottles containing liquids, powders and documents covered with unfamiliar symbols. These items were repeatedly described in media reports as being associated with witchcraft or supernatural practices.[Seychelles News Agency]seychellesnewsagency.comSeychelles News AgencyLeader of United Seychelles, 1 Tanzanian man and 6 Seychellois charged in witchcraft case - Seychelles News AgencyO…

The investigation rapidly widened. Seven Seychellois, including Patrick Herminie, were charged with offences under Seychelles’ Penal Code relating to witchcraft, conspiracy, counselling or procuring another person to exercise witchcraft, and soliciting advice through “non-natural or superstitious means”. Prosecutors initially brought dozens of charges across the accused, with the Tanzanian defendant facing the largest number.[Seychelles Nation]nation.scSeychelles Nation Magistrates Court hears witchcraft case -Seychelles NationSeychelles NationMagistrates Court hears witchcraft case -Seychelles NationOctober 3, 2023…Published: October 3, 2023

One important point often became blurred in public discussion. Early reporting sometimes linked the airport arrest directly to the disturbed graves. However, the Seychelles News Agency later issued a correction stating that fact-checking had found no established investigative link between the airport case and the exhumed bodies. That correction illustrates how quickly separate events can become merged in public narratives before evidence has been tested.[Seychelles News Agency]seychellesnewsagency.comSeychelles News AgencyLeader of United Seychelles, 1 Tanzanian man and 6 Seychellois charged in witchcraft case - Seychelles News AgencyO…

Why Patrick Herminie became central

Patrick Herminie’s involvement transformed what might otherwise have remained a relatively obscure criminal prosecution into a major political controversy.

According to investigators, Herminie’s name emerged during inquiries into the Tanzanian suspect and from material allegedly recovered during the investigation. Herminie stated publicly that police told him his name had appeared in WhatsApp communications between a Seychellois individual and the Tanzanian national. Police searched his party headquarters, questioned him and later formally charged him before releasing him on bail.[Seychelles News Agency]seychellesnewsagency.comSeychelles News AgencyLeader of United Seychelles, 1 Tanzanian man and 6 Seychellois charged in witchcraft case - Seychelles News AgencyO…

Herminie consistently denied any wrongdoing. He argued that the prosecution was politically motivated and designed to damage both his reputation and the electoral prospects of the opposition United Seychelles party before the 2025 presidential election. Government authorities, meanwhile, treated the matter as a criminal investigation proceeding through the courts rather than a political campaign.[Africanews]africanews.comSeychelles: leader of main opposition party charged with witchcraft | AfricanewsSeychelles: leader of main opposition party charged with witchcraft | AfricanewsAugust 13, 2024…Published: August 13, 2024

The case therefore acquired two competing public interpretations:

• The prosecution’s position: police and prosecutors maintained that they were investigating offences recognised under Seychelles law relating to witchcraft and associated conduct.
• The defence’s position: Herminie and his lawyers argued that there was no credible evidence linking him to criminal activity and that the proceedings represented political persecution rather than an evidence-based prosecution.[Seychelles Nation]nation.scSeychelles Nation Magistrates Court hears witchcraft case -Seychelles NationSeychelles NationMagistrates Court hears witchcraft case -Seychelles NationOctober 3, 2023…Published: October 3, 2023

How the prosecution began to unravel

As court proceedings continued into early 2024, attention shifted from sensational allegations to procedural difficulties.

Defence lawyers repeatedly challenged the prosecution’s handling of the case. Court hearings revealed disputes over disclosure of evidence, the organisation of more than 500 pages of case documents, and whether defendants facing different allegations should be tried together. Senior Magistrate Andy Asba openly criticised aspects of the prosecution’s preparation, warning that the documentation risked producing a disorganised and unmanageable trial.[Seychelles Nation]nation.scOpen source on nation.sc.

A significant turning point came when the court ordered the charges against the defendants to be separated rather than treated as one combined case. This forced prosecutors to reconsider how they would proceed against each accused individually.[Seychelles Nation]nation.scOpen source on nation.sc.

Within weeks, prosecutors withdrew the original charges against Patrick Herminie and several co-defendants. At the same time, however, they opened new proceedings involving a smaller number of defendants, primarily centred on the Tanzanian national and two Seychellois accused of conspiracy or counselling offences connected with witchcraft.[Seychelles Nation]nation.scSeychelles Nation Witchcraft case -Seychelles NationSeychelles NationWitchcraft case -Seychelles NationFebruary 16, 2024…Published: February 16, 2024

What the withdrawn charges did and did not prove

The withdrawal of charges against Herminie has sometimes been misunderstood.

It did not establish that every allegation made during the investigation was false, nor did it amount to a judicial finding that investigators had acted in bad faith. Charges can be withdrawn for a variety of legal and procedural reasons, including prosecutorial reassessment after evidence is reviewed.

Equally, the case did not prove that Herminie had participated in any criminal conspiracy involving witchcraft. No court found him guilty, and prosecutors abandoned the original charges before any trial could test the evidence against him.[Seychelles Nation]nation.scSeychelles Nation Witchcraft case -Seychelles NationSeychelles NationWitchcraft case -Seychelles NationFebruary 16, 2024…Published: February 16, 2024

Several widely repeated claims also remained unsupported by publicly tested evidence:

These assertions circulated widely in media coverage and political debate but were never established through completed court proceedings against Herminie.[Seychelles News Agency]seychellesnewsagency.comSeychelles News AgencyLeader of United Seychelles, 1 Tanzanian man and 6 Seychellois charged in witchcraft case - Seychelles News AgencyO…

Why the case became a modern panic about the supernatural

The prosecution illustrates how belief, symbolism and uncertainty can reinforce one another.

Many of the objects discussed publicly—bottles, powders, wooden carvings and documents bearing unfamiliar symbols—carried strong emotional associations. To believers in supernatural harm, they appeared deeply sinister. Yet such objects do not explain themselves. Their meaning depends on interpretation, context and supporting evidence.

Once the investigation entered the political arena, rumours often moved faster than verified facts. International headlines describing an opposition leader being charged with witchcraft encouraged an impression of extraordinary revelations, even though the legal process was still at a preliminary stage and key factual claims remained contested.[Africanews]africanews.comSeychelles: leader of main opposition party charged with witchcraft | AfricanewsSeychelles: leader of main opposition party charged with witchcraft | AfricanewsAugust 13, 2024…Published: August 13, 2024

Rather than representing a classic outbreak of mass hysteria, the episode more closely resembles a modern moral and political scare in which longstanding cultural beliefs about supernatural power became intertwined with criminal investigation, media attention and partisan conflict.

Why the case still matters

The 2023 witchcraft case occupies a distinctive place in contemporary Seychellois history because it exposed several tensions at once.

First, it demonstrated that colonial-era offences relating to witchcraft remain capable of generating major legal proceedings in a modern constitutional democracy. Second, it showed how traditional fears surrounding supernatural practices continue to have political and legal consequences even in a highly modernised society. Finally, the withdrawal of charges against Patrick Herminie highlighted the importance of distinguishing suspicion from proof.

The lasting lesson is therefore not that a hidden occult network was uncovered, but that extraordinary allegations require equally strong evidence. In this case, public speculation expanded far beyond what the courts ultimately established, making the prosecution one of Seychelles’ clearest recent examples of supernatural belief, criminal justice and political conflict intersecting without producing definitive proof of the most dramatic claims.

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Endnotes

1. Source: nation.sc
Title: Seychelles Nation Magistrates Court hears witchcraft case -Seychelles Nation
Link:https://www.nation.sc/articles/19577/magistrates-court-hears-witchcraft-case-

Published: October 3, 2023

2. Source: nation.sc
Link:https://www.nation.sc/articles/19553/us-party-president-arrested-and-released-for-alleged-witchcraft-related-offences

Published: September 30, 2023

3. Source: africanews.com
Title: Seychelles: leader of main opposition party charged with witchcraft | Africanews
Link:https://www.africanews.com/2023/10/03/seychelles-leader-of-main-opposition-party-charged-with-witchcraft/

Published: August 13, 2024

4. Source: nation.sc
Link:https://www.nation.sc/articles/20815/procedural-setbacks-for-prosecution-in-witchcraft-case

5. Source: nation.sc
Link:https://www.nation.sc/articles/20963/magistrates-court-orders-severance-of-witchcraft-charges

6. Source: nation.sc
Title: Seychelles Nation Witchcraft related case set for January 19 -Seychelles Nation
Link:https://www.nation.sc/articles/20554/witchcraft-related-case-set-for-january-19

Published: December 23, 2023

7. Source: nation.sc
Title: Seychelles Nation Witchcraft case -Seychelles Nation
Link:https://www.nation.sc/articles/21128/witchcraft-case

Published: February 16, 2024

8. Source: nation.sc
Title: Witchcraft case -Seychelles Nation
Link:https://www.nation.sc/articles/20134/witchcraft-case-

Published: November 18, 2023

9. Source: nation.sc
Link:https://nation.sc/articles/19951/magistrates-court-sets-plea-date-in-witchcraft-case-for-november-17

Published: November 3, 2023

10. Source: seychellesnewsagency.com
Link:https://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/19398/leader-of-united-seychelles-1-tanzanian-man-and-6-seychellois-charged-in-witchcraft-case

11. Source: seychellesnewsagency.com
Link:https://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/20092/Witchcraft%2Bcharges%2Bdropped%2Bagainst%2BUnited%2BSeychelles%2Bparty%2Bleader

Published: February 15, 2024

Additional References

12. Source: newscentraltv.com
Title: Seychelles Court Drops Witchcraft Charges Against Herminie
Link:https://newscentraltv.com/seychelles-court-drops-witchcraft-charges-against-herminie/

Published: February 15, 2024

13. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2639VFYfyJE

14. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGOXuvNsnKg

15. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUjWeaChFao

16. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFfcdJxazOM

17. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9xwkIAD9_E