Combating Witchcraft in the State Courts of Anglophone Cameroon: The Insufficiency of Criminal Law

Abstract

Belief in witchcraft is ingrained in Cameroonian society and has met with a variety of responses from traditional courts and state courts in the common law jurisdiction of Anglophone Cameroon.The outcome of witchcraft trials in Anglophone Cameroon is primarily influenced by the applicable laws in force. This article unravels contradictory developments in the fight against witchcraft in the state courts of Anglophone Cameroon. It argues that, while criminal law recognises the existence of witchcraft in the popular belief system and punishes its practice, the application of this law highlights contradictions, tensions, and procedural lapses, especially in the admissibility of evidence, rendering it ineffective in practice. Consequently, as was the case during colonialism, persons accused of witchcraft are regularly acquitted for want of empirical evidence while their accusers are imprisoned for defamation. The article demonstrates that criminal law, in its current form, is ill-adapted to curtailing witchcraft. To suppress witchcraft beliefs and accusations effectively, the article proposes, among other measures, reform of the criminal law or, alternatively, the decriminalisation of witchcraft, and a redirection of responsibility for its suppression to the domain of traditional authorities.