Local police in the Maldives have arrested two serving ministers for allegedly performing black magic on President Mohamed Muizzu. Ministers Shamnaz Saleem, Adam Rameez, and two others were apprehended, reported international media.
Maldives Minister Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem is the state minister for Environment, Climate Change, and Energy in the Maldives. Her ex-husband, Adam Rameez, was a minister at the President’s Office. On June 23, they were arrested and remanded in custody for seven days on charges of allegedly performing black magic.
“Shamnaz, alongside two other individuals, was arrested on Sunday. All three of them have been remanded in custody for seven days. She was suspended from her post on Wednesday as per the Environment Ministry,” news portal Sun.mv reported, adding that Rameez was also suspended on Thursday.
“Rameez, during his time at Male City Council, was known as a close aide of Muizzu, who was the mayor at that time,” Sun.mv said. “However, he has been absent from the public light in the past five months or so,” the report added.
Shamnaz and Rameez worked with Muizzu as members of the Male City Council when he was mayor.
The Maldives government has yet to make an official statement on this situation.
Background
After Muizzu was elected President last year, Shamnaz resigned from the Male City Council and later transferred to the Environment Ministry.
Her role is vital in a nation facing the brunt of the climate crisis.
A 62-year-old woman was stabbed to death by three neighbours in April 2023 after she was accused of conducting black magic, aalthough the police investigation found her to be innocent, according to a local Mihaaru news website.
In 2012, during a crackdown on an opposition political rally, the police accused the organizers of hurling a “cursed rooster” at officers who were raiding their offices
