How the Culadje Witch Panic Turned Deadly

Introduction

In February 2024, the village of Culadje in northern Guinea-Bissau became the scene of one of the country’s deadliest recent witchcraft-related incidents. After two young people died following a sudden illness, suspicion fell on older members of the community, who were accused of causing the deaths through supernatural means. Rather than seeking medical or legal answers, villagers organised a traditional poison ordeal in which the accused were forced to drink a toxic preparation that was believed to reveal guilt. Eight people died and 21 others required hospital treatment.[Channels Television]channelstv.comChannels TelevisionEight Women Accused Of Witchcraft Killed In Guinea-Bissau • Channels TelevisionFebruary 22, 2024…Published: February 22, 2024

The Culadje case is important because it illustrates how grief, uncertainty and long-standing beliefs about harmful witchcraft can combine to produce organised communal violence. It was not simply a spontaneous outburst of fear. The accusations, the ritual itself and the subsequent legal investigation reveal a structured process through which suspicion became accepted as proof, with fatal consequences.

What happened after the two sudden deaths?

The immediate trigger was the unexplained illness and death of two young people in Culadje, a rural settlement in the Cacheu Region near the Senegalese border. Without a clear medical explanation, many residents concluded that the deaths must have been caused intentionally through witchcraft rather than natural disease.[Channels Television]channelstv.comChannels TelevisionEight Women Accused Of Witchcraft Killed In Guinea-Bissau • Channels TelevisionFebruary 22, 2024…Published: February 22, 2024

Attention soon focused on older villagers, who were accused of possessing supernatural powers capable of causing illness or death. Reports indicate that 29 people were identified as suspects. Rather than reporting them to the authorities, members of the community arranged for ritual specialists—described in different reports as a seer, diviner or traditional practitioner—to conduct an ordeal intended to identify the supposed witches.[24 Notícias]24noticias.sapo.pt24 NotíciasMay 2, 2024…Published: May 2, 2024

The victims were compelled to drink a preparation described by officials as a poisonous substance or unidentified traditional medicine. Eight people died shortly afterwards, while 21 others were taken to the health centre in São Domingos for emergency treatment.[RTP África]rtpafrica.rtp.ptÁfrica Guiné-BissauRTP ÁfricaGuiné-Bissau - Oito idosos morreram alegadamente envenenados, acusados de feitiçaria - RTP África…

Early international reports often described all eight fatalities as women over the age of 50. Later reporting based on the Guinea-Bissau Public Prosecutor’s investigation stated that the dead comprised five men and three women, all elderly. The differing accounts probably reflect the speed with which the story first emerged, but all versions agree that older people were the primary targets of the accusations.[Channels Television]channelstv.comChannels TelevisionEight Women Accused Of Witchcraft Killed In Guinea-Bissau • Channels TelevisionFebruary 22, 2024…Published: February 22, 2024

How the poison ordeal was supposed to prove guilt

The Culadje deaths resulted from a poison ordeal rather than any judicial process. Such ordeals rest on the belief that supernatural forces will protect innocent people while exposing the guilty through illness, confession or death.

In practice, however, the outcome depends on entirely physical factors such as:

A death caused by poisoning can therefore be interpreted by believers as confirmation that the victim was a witch, creating a circular logic in which the ordeal itself manufactures the “evidence” it claims merely to reveal. This helps explain why such rituals can reinforce accusations instead of resolving uncertainty.[24 Notícias]24noticias.sapo.pt24 NotíciasMay 2, 2024…Published: May 2, 2024

Officials reported that the Culadje ritual had been organised specifically to “clean” the community of alleged witches believed responsible for repeated deaths and other misfortunes. According to the subsequent prosecution, local residents attributed not only recent deaths but also recurring deaths among pregnant women, children and young people, as well as educational and political failures, to witchcraft.[24 Notícias]24noticias.sapo.pt24 NotíciasMay 2, 2024…Published: May 2, 2024

Why the case became organised communal violence

The Culadje episode demonstrates how supernatural accusations can evolve into coordinated violence rather than isolated acts of persecution.

Several features made the accusations especially dangerous:

These elements transformed grief into a communal campaign against a defined group of vulnerable people. The victims were not punished after evidence was gathered; the ordeal itself became both the investigation and the sentence.

The official response

Unlike some earlier incidents that received little formal attention, the Culadje deaths prompted a criminal investigation.

The Guinea-Bissau Public Prosecutor’s Office charged 23 people in connection with the case. According to prosecutors, those charged included the alleged seer who organised the ritual, although authorities stated that he had fled and would face trial in absentia if he could not be arrested. Twenty other defendants were reportedly held in pre-trial detention while awaiting trial.[24 Notícias]24noticias.sapo.pt24 NotíciasMay 2, 2024…Published: May 2, 2024

The prosecution alleged that the defendants forced victims to consume a poisonous mixture made from wild plants and charged them over eight deaths and injuries suffered by the 21 survivors. This legal response marked an important rejection of poison ordeals as acceptable customary practice.[24 Notícias]24noticias.sapo.pt24 NotíciasMay 2, 2024…Published: May 2, 2024

Human-rights organisations also condemned the killings. The Guinea-Bissau Human Rights League described the incident as barbaric and called for a national strategy to prevent witchcraft-related violence. The organisation argued that repeated failures to prosecute earlier cases had encouraged further attacks. It also reported dozens of witchcraft-related conflicts and numerous deaths in recent years, particularly in rural areas.[RTP]rtp.ptLGDH pede ao Governo medidas contra mortes por feitiçaria na Guiné-BissauLGDH pede ao Governo medidas contra mortes por feitiçaria na Guiné-Bissau…

What the case reveals about witch panics in Guinea-Bissau

The Culadje tragedy is best understood as a witch panic driven by collective belief rather than evidence of actual supernatural activity.

Several important points distinguish the case:

The episode also illustrates that belief in witchcraft and participation in violence are not synonymous. Many people in Guinea-Bissau hold spiritual beliefs without supporting persecution. The killings resulted from the combination of grief, communal pressure, ritual authority and the absence of trusted alternative explanations, not from religious belief alone.

Why Culadje remains an important case

The Culadje poison ordeal has become one of the clearest documented examples of a modern witch panic in Guinea-Bissau because it is unusually well recorded by officials, journalists and human-rights organisations. The legal proceedings also provide rare evidence that the state sought to treat the deaths as criminal acts rather than as legitimate traditional justice.[24 Notícias]24noticias.sapo.pt24 NotíciasMay 2, 2024…Published: May 2, 2024

For historians and social researchers, the incident demonstrates how collective fear can convert ordinary bereavement into organised persecution. For policymakers, it highlights the importance of accessible healthcare, effective policing, prompt criminal investigations and public confidence in legal institutions as alternatives to dangerous supernatural explanations for sudden death.

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Further Reading

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Endnotes

1. Source: rtpafrica.rtp.pt
Title: África Guiné-Bissau
Link:https://rtpafrica.rtp.pt/noticias/guine-bissau-oito-pessoas-morreram-acusadas-da-pratica-de-feiticaria/

2. Source: rtp.pt
Title: LGDH pede ao Governo medidas contra mortes por feitiçaria na Guiné-Bissau
Link:https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/mundo/lgdh-pede-ao-governo-medidas-contra-mortes-por-feiticaria-na-guine-bissau_n1552434

3. Source: channelstv.com
Link:https://www.channelstv.com/2024/02/22/eight-women-accused-of-witchcraft-killed-in-guinea-bissau/

Published: February 22, 2024

4. Source: 24noticias.sapo.pt
Link:https://24noticias.sapo.pt/noticias/23-acusados-da-morte-de-oito-idosos-por_6633aaa58b0345014f6294d0

Published: May 2, 2024

Additional References

5. Source: leral.net
Link:https://www.leral.net/Apres-avoir-absorbe-une-potion-magique-8-personnes-accusees-de-sorcellerie-sont-mortes_a362192.html

Published: February 23, 2024

6. Source: sierraleonemonitor.com
Title: Eight Women Accused Of Witchcraft Killed In Guinea-Bissau | Sierra Leone Monitor
Link:https://www.sierraleonemonitor.com/eight-women-accused-of-witchcraft-killed-in-guinea-bissau/

Published: February 23, 2024

7. Source: modernghana.com
Title: Modern Ghana Stop Witchcraft Accusations and Trial by Ordeal in Guinea Bissau
Link:https://www.modernghana.com/news/1294828/stop-witchcraft-accusations-and-trial-by-ordeal.html

Published: February 23, 2024

8. Source: abcnyheter.no
Title: Åtte kvinner drept i Guinea-Bissau etter anklager om hekseri | ABC Nyheter
Link:https://www.abcnyheter.no/nyheter/atte-kvinner-drept-i-guinea-bissau-etter-anklager-om-hekseri/447802

Published: February 23, 2024

9. Source: dtudo1pouco.cv
Title: Oito pessoas morreram na Guiné-Bissau acusadas da prática de feitiçaria
Link:https://dtudo1pouco.cv/oito-pessoas-morreram-na-guine-bissau-acusadas-da-pratica-de-feiticaria/

Published: February 22, 2024

10. Source: guardian.ng
Title: Eight women accused of witchcraft forced to drink poison
Link:https://guardian.ng/news/eight-women-accused-of-witchcraft-killed-in-guinea-bissau/

Published: February 22, 2024

11. Source: youtube.com
Title: Africa Matters: The Gambia’s ‘witch hunt’ victims await justice
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1x0NjAOays

12. Source: youtube.com
Title: Stakeholders Address Jammeh Era Witch Hunt Campaign at WAVE Led Session
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=godWLJTP-mo

13. Source: ecoi.net
Link:https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2128511.html

14. Source: ecoi.net
Link:https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2128513.html