Mali's human sacrifice - myth or reality?

By Sadio Kante
BBC correspondent in Mali

Whenever major events such as initiation ceremonies or
elections approach in Mali, some children, women and
albinos start to become afraid.
Because this is when people - usually from these three
groups - disappear.

If their bodies are found, they are rarely intact, as some
of their organs have been cut out, to be used in human
sacrifices, many people believe.

During May's local elections, the body of seven-year-old
Souleymane Camara was found in a bag in a river several
days after he had gone missing.

His genitals, heart and liver had been removed.

Many point the finger at politicians, businessmen or anyone
seeking their fame and fortune, who believe that the powers
of a magic charm will be boosted with a human ingredient.

Those responsible for these crimes are rarely brought to
justice.

Mali is one of the world's poorest countries and
sociologist Assata Diallo says this provides the perfect
conditions for conmen to flourish.

"Charlatans, witchdoctors and other who live by selling
dreams can easily attract people by saying they have the
solutions to their problems," she says.

"The get-rich quick society and the difficulty of finding
enough food for the whole family make the conmen very
imaginative."

Belief in witchcraft is so widespread that there is even a
monthly newspaper which specialises in such stories -
Kabako.

State prosecutor Fodie Toure says that many healers, and
witchdoctors, are coming to cities such as Bamako from the
countryside in search of money and new clients.

"We are getting more cases of everything from people being
killed for their organs, to graves being dug up and the
bones being stolen, so they can be sold - either in Mali or
exported," he says.


'Straight to hell'

Mali has strict laws against human sacrifice and anyone
found guilty faces the death penalty.

But traditional healers operate openly, prescribing
traditional plants or less harmful ways of bringing good
luck and many Malians use them before consulting western
doctors.

There is even a market for the ingredients used in magic
charms in the heart of the capital, Bamako, between
parliament and the main mosque.

Here, you can find all sorts of plants and wild animals,
alive or dead.

Abdoul Dembele has several examples on display in his
stall.

"A lion's head makes you strong, while Arabs often buy
hyena heads to become rich and if you know how to use them,
cowry shells can bring lots of money," he says.

Malians use the healers for a variety of problems - to seek
everything from cures for their ailments, to become rich,
or find a husband or wife, or to bring success to their
favourite football team.

When I met Abdramane Konate, he was reading cowry shells
for a woman who wanted to know if her son would get a visa
to go to France.

"Any charlatan or healer who says he can solve someone's
problems by spilling human blood will go straight to hell,"
he says.

"Plants and natural herbs have all sorts of medicinal
properties. Or if you want to be blessed by God, you can
sacrifice a cow, a sheep, or a chicken. But never a human
being," he says.

But one of Bamako's best known traditional healers, who
wished to remain anonymous, says: "Human sacrifice is a
myth for intellectuals, but a reality for us in the
business.

"Most people who say they are devout Muslims or Christians
are our best customers.

"Human sacrifice is the final step of a process, which only
a few can achieve.

"Before the colonial era, the real masters used to
practise. Now, there are only trainee witches left."

When I went to ask Police Sergeant Sadio Coulibaly about
the scale of the problem, the first thing he said was:

"Just before you arrived, we had a young boy and a girl,
who wanted us to arrest their parents, saying they were
witches and wanted to eat them.

"We get those kind of cases every week but we rarely get
any convictions because of a lack of evidence."

But Sergeant Coulibaly says he personally does not believe
in witchcraft.

"Those who kill and mutilate people are mentally disturbed.
They need help."










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