ABSTRACT
Postcolonial authorities see the belief in witchcraft and other occult forces as creating a basic impediment to development initiatives in Africa. Consequently, the state in Cameroon has sought to use all sorts of instruments— including legal instruments—to contain, if not eradicate, witchcraft. However, the institutionaliza-tion of the crimes of witchcraft, magic, and divination has been fraught with evi-dential problems of proof. The vigorous pursuit of witches by the postcolonial courts has led to rather perverse outcomes whereby the witch-doctors, witches par excellence, have emerged as expert witnesses in the courts. By relying on these expert witnesses, the courts are caught in the witchcraft logic, blurring the line between the accused and the accuser. The standard of proof in the courts has become that of the “L'intime conviction du judge,” at best a subjective standard.
