Comoros Expels Tanzanian for ‘Election Sorcery’

The Comoros has expelled a Tanzanian witch doctor suspected of having

been hired to rig weekend elections with his magic, police said

Thursday.

The juju man arrived in the Indian Ocean state two weeks

ago and was repeatedly seen at the home of Mohamed Abdoulhoihabi, the

governor of the archipelago’s main island of Grande Comore.

A

senior police official who asked not to be named said the Tanzanian

citizen was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of working to influence the

weekend’s polls and was deported on Wednesday.

“He’s a friend, he

used to come for meals regularly,” the governor’s wife complained after

enquiring about the Tanzanian’s fate with the police.

“Nothing is

clear or official. We are being told he is a crook but no warrant was

issued… Internal security confirmed his arrest and simply told us that

witchcraft was banned,” she added.

Abdoulhoihabi, once a close

aide to Comoran President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi and now an opposition

politician, will face a ruling party candidate as he attempts to retain

his job on Sunday.

The federation is holding a national

presidential ballot on Sunday as well as elections for the posts of

governor on each of the three islands: Grande Comore, Anjouan and

Moheli.