Abidjan, Sept 17, 2021 (AIP) – The prefect of the Bagoué region, prefect of the Boundiali department, Amani Tiémoko, ordered the closure of the prayer site of Dame Adissa Touré in the commune of Kolia by an Order, Wednesday September 15 2021 , following a report from the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) denouncing human rights abuses resulting from the “Adissa Touré phenomenon”.

The regional human rights commissions of Bagoué, Folon and Poro, have documented the human rights abuses linked to the activities of this preacher in Kolia. Investigations revealed that this situation mainly violated the right to “the dignity of its faithful and pilgrims”, to protection, health and safety, reports a CNDH information note sent on Friday, September 17, 2021 to the ‘AIP.

“On the preaching site laid out in a summary way, without the usual amenities, thousands of people have made their home there, live and sleep on the ground, without water or electricity. In this period of rainy season, this situation dehumanizes them. Men, women, children, senior citizens and people with disabilities, looking for a cure or miracle that would positively change their lives, find it difficult to meet their basic needs, because they are forced to buy everything from exorbitant costs ”, underlines the report .

According to the document, apart from the Korhogo Mobile Intervention Group (GMI), present on the site to maintain order, the populations do not benefit from public services (health and hygiene, social, toilets, etc.). “The preacher has not received authorization from either the prefect of the department or the sub-prefect of Kolia to carry out large-scale activities, which drain crowds with strong implications,” said the report.

“On the site, the populations live in precariousness and total promiscuity during this period of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he notes. Barrier measures are not respected and social distancing is not required. “The pilgrims hardly wear the mask. In this space, populations experience water stress and are exposed to other diseases such as cholera and dysentery, ”notes the text.

“The presence of thousands of people during the sermons poses problems of securing the site and the people who live there on a daily basis”, continues the CNDH. Also, the “porosity of our borders with Mali and Burkina Faso raises fears of infiltration of elements of jihad within these crowds which sweep every day on Kolia”, worries the Council in its report.

The large influx of people to this small town has certainly created an economic dynamic in the region, but there is “growing road insecurity”. The report notes numerous traffic accidents between June and August 2021 on the various axes leading to Kolia (North Ivory Coast, Bagoué region).

Source: Agence Ivoirienne de Presse