GABON – INVOLUNTARY HOMICIDE – HUMAN QUALITY OF THE VICTIM – MAGIC AND WITCH PRACTICES – TRANSFORMATION OF THE VICTIM AT THE MOMENT OF THE FACTS – RELAXATION: Correctional Court of Boué,
April 22, 1964.

The Tribunal,
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Whereas Biyeke Etienne was summoned to appear before the Tribunal correctionnel de ces, for the prevention of having, in Bisso-Binlam, district of Boué, on September 13, 1963, in any case for less than 3 years, by imprudence, clumsiness, negligence, inattention or non-observance of the regulations, involuntarily caused homicide on the person of Mr. Joseph Akoué;

Whereas it follows from the debates and the file on Biyeke Etienne, on September 13, 1963, went to the hunt in the afternoon; At four o’clock he heard the cries of the monkeys, and posted himself between the great forest and the old plantations from which these cries came, hoping that the monkeys would go from old plantations to the forest. that, realizing that they were moving away from him, Biyeke decided to follow them when, under the foliage, he saw a chimpanzee come to him, as he approached more and more of him shouting, Biyeke saw himself obliged to charge him at the head of a shot; that the chimpanzee fell and made a man cry; that he straightened up as a man and was able to do more than 1,000 meters in the forest while running, when Eloumé Elizabeth, who met him, took him by the hand, that the victim sank and died without saying anything; When called for help, the villagers came and recognized and transported Akoué Joseph’s body to the village;

Whereas at the hearing, the accused maintained that he saw perfectly clearly when he had fired the shot and that he had correctly identified his victim with a chimpanzee, that he did not hunt for the first time, having already captured four since he hunted;

Whereas manslaughter is punishable only if it is a man who has been killed by clumsiness, recklessness or negligence; that in this case Biyeke targeted in broad daylight and fired on a chimpanzee and not on a man; that if the chimpanzee became a man after the shot, Biyeke can no longer be detained in the prevention of manslaughter;

Whereas it is common knowledge in Gabon that men change either in panther, gorilla, elephant, etc., to accomplish exploits, eliminate enemies or attract heavy responsibilities, defend their plantations and ravaging those of neighbors and friends; that it is facts which are unknown to Western law and which the Gabonese judge must take into account, that it is indeed inconceivable to the European spirit that a man can travel more than 400 km in 27 hours on foot, whereas a Bakoto of Makokou and Boue fulfilled it;

Whereas he is not as common as an individual who has been loaded with lead in his head, and after having fallen, gets up and still manages to run more than 1,000 meters in the forest;

Whereas it must still be known that the transformations of men into ferocious animals are still in order not to frighten the game, to seize it, more easily;

Whereas Akoué Joseph, who went hunting without weapons, did not need it since he could take game other than with a weapon;

Whereas if it is necessary to punish the manslaughter of hunting, it is nevertheless necessary to consider the cases and to take action against these magic and witch practices that populate Gabon, especially as regards operations in forest, and which delay enormously the evolution of our people;