Freetown – Sierra Leone’s government has revoked a pardon for a notorious witch doctor who was sentenced to death in 2016 for murdering and dismembering a DJ, after a public outcry.
President Julius Maada Bio’s office stated late on Monday that it had revoked with immediate effect a pardon offered to Baimba Moi Foray, the witch doctor, on January 1.
The move followed broad outcry in the West African nation, where in 2015 the gruesome murder of DJ Clef – born Sydney David Buckle – became a cause celebre.
On the last night of his life, DJ Clef played a raucous set at the home of Foray, a so-called ju-ju man known for his high-society connections.
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Clef was later found dead, with his organs and genitals missing, on the outskirts of the capital Freetown.
Foray and an accomplice were convicted of his murder the following year and sentenced to hang for their crimes.
However, there were allegations that the police bungled the investigation amid intense media interest and pressure to find a perpetrator.
It is unclear why Sierra Leone’s government pardoned Foray this month, but it said on Monday that it would review the process for granting pardons.
On Tuesday, Bio also appointed a new justice minister, without offering an explanation.
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Photos circulating on social media appeared to show Foray, after his release, alongside ex-justice minister Anthony Brewah and Information Minister Mohamed Rahman Swaray.
Swaray stated on social media on Tuesday that the meeting with the witch doctor had been “purely coincidental”.
Sierra Leone police could not confirm to AFP whether Foray had been returned to prison after the president revoked his pardon on Monday.
The convicted murderer is no longer facing the death penalty: Sierra Leone banned capital punishment in October.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Getty Images
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