Capital gripped by wild rumours of headhunters

Press, 12 November 1977, Page 9

Capital gripped by wild rumours of headhunters

NZPA Abidjan A wave of hysteria sweeping Abidjan, capital of the Ivory Coast, over rumours that a band of fanatical headhunters has been picking people up and decapitating them has drawn an official denial from President Felix HouphouetBoigny’s Government. Macabre stories about the supposed headhunters and the climate of fear gripping the city were discussed at a joint meeting of the ruling Ivory Coast Democratic Party ■ and the Government attended by the President on Tuesday. An official statement issued afterwards said that police enquiries showed that no headless bodies had been

found and no mysterious disappearances reported. The rumours arose from exaggeration and a series of minor incidents. In one of them a man who left his house late one night to look for a taxi to take his wife to hospital to have a baby returned to find her gone.

He immediately told neighbours she had been taken away by “les coupeurs de tete" (the head-cutters). She had in fact been given a lift to the hospital, the statement said. A father who found his son missing drew the same conclusion. The boy had merely gone on an errand for a local shopkeeper, the statement said.

It appealed to people to

show maturity and a spirit of discernment in reacting to such stories.

Despite the Government’s efforts, the reports have also given rise to a spate of macabre practical jokes. “The headhunters will come for you between nine tonight and two in the morning,” said a note handed into the police by a local man. The police have nevertheless announced that security in the city is being tightened. Some observers attribute the hysteria to a case of trafficking in human remains now before a local court. Six Malians and an Ivorian are alleged to have robbed graves and removed parts of the bodies.