VZCZCXRO9916
PP RUEHBZ RUEHGI RUEHMA
DE RUEHLC #0152/01 0921006
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011006Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0253
INFO RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 1018
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 1446
RUEHBZ/AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 0879
RUEHGI/AMEMBASSY BANGUI 0024
RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 0900
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 0290
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0373
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0927
RUEHMA/AMEMBASSY MALABO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LIBREVILLE 000152 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KPAO KCRM GB
SUBJECT: GABON: RITUAL CRIME ON THE RISE 
 
REF: 07 LIBREVILLE 0082 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (U) The number of suspected ritual killings in Gabon is on 
the rise ahead of scheduled April 27 local elections. 
Members of civil society and some religious leaders have 
denounced this practice.  Government has had little to say on 
the subject, however.  There has been extensive coverage of 
these incidents in local media, though no perpetrators have 
been conclusively identified or prosecuted.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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On the Rise 
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¶2. (U) As preparations for the April 27 local elections move 
forward, Gabon is experiencing an increase in suspected 
ritual killings.  Although the government has not released 
official data, the Gabonese NGO "l,Association de Lutte 
Contre les Crimes Rituels" (ALCR) estimates that least 12 
ritual murders occurred in February alone.  While the numbers 
cannot be confirmed, local press has reported several 
gruesome discoveries of mutilated bodies found on the beach, 
near other bodies of water or--in one instance--outside a 
soccer stadium.  Recently, a body of a teenaged girl was 
found during daylight on the beach within a mile of the 
Embassy.  Among the many drivers that passed the body before 
it was removed, an Embassy FSN investigator confirmed that it 
had been mutilated. 
 
¶3. (U) Ritual killings, often of children, occur in many 
African countries.  Some contend that the problem is 
particularly concentrated in central Africa.  Gabonese 
observers report that the problem of ritual killings has 
historically worsened in periods before elections.  According 
to local informants, ritual killings occur when a powerful 
and/or wealthy individual requests that a sorcerer or 
"fetisheur" carry out a ceremony to assure achievement of a 
desired goal (such as victory in an election).  The fetisheur 
kills or contracts a killing to obtain body parts (generally 
blood, tongue, and sexual organs) for the ceremony.  The 
victims are often children, but also include adults (reftel). 
 
 
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Public Reaction 
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¶4. (U) The Gabonese public has generally reacted with 
revulsion to the latest upsurge in ritual crime.  Some 
religious leaders have spoken out, and the president of the 
National Assembly condemned the practice when opening the 
latest session of parliament on March 4.  Other government 
leaders have had little to say, however, and the police have 
not been able to identify any suspected perpetrator. 
 
 
¶5.  (U) Some civil society groups have attempted to further 
spotlight this problem and prompt government action.  On 
March 8 ALCR, accompanied by representatives from other NGOs 
and religious organizations, organized a press conference to 
condemn the practice of ritual crime and urge a more 
effective government response.  Some speakers at the press 
conference attributed the silence by senior Gabonese leaders, 
and the lack of government action, on the complicity by some 
powerful individuals in ritual crime.  Speakers alleged that 
even when a perpetrator is apprehended, the powerful figure 
commissioning the crime generally goes unpunished. 
 
¶6.  (U) The Embassy provided a small grant to ALCR in 2007 to 
organize a one-day conference to draw attention to the 
problem of ritual crime. 
 
¶7.  (SBU)  UNICEF Country Representative Youssouf Abdel-Jelil 
told the Ambassador that UNICEF would like to commission a 
Situational Analysis of the problem in Gabon.  He is looking 
into funding for the Analysis, and would like to bring in a 
non-Gabonese expert to team up with a Gabonese to conduct it. 
 Abdel-Jelil believes the study would help identify the 
target population of the crimes, and the circumstances of the 
abductions and the murders reported to date.  With these 
 
LIBREVILLE 00000152  002 OF 002 
 
 
results, UNICEF would be able to inform and work with the 
Government of Gabon on ways to halt the crimes.  The 
Ambassador urged the UNICEF rep to move quickly on the 
Analysis, and advise the USG and other donors of its results. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶8. (SBU) Ritual murder does not appear to be prosecuted as 
vigorously, or at least not as successfully, as other types 
of murder in Gabon.  Like FGM and other negative social 
practices, ritual crime can be combatted with effective local 
leadership and sound strategies.  We would be grateful to 
hear from other posts who have participated in successful 
strategies to combat ritual crime.  End Comment. 
REDDICK