Senior Italian
politician Roberto Calderoli who sparked outrage when he compared
Italy’s first black minister, Congolese-born Cécile Kyenge to an orang-utan (a specie of apes),
claims he is under siege from vengeful African spirits.
He
is considering asking the Pope to recommend an exorcist to fight off the curse.
When
Calderoli made the racist statement, he issued an apology and refused to
resign. In November, he took legal advice after being charged with defamation
aggravated by racial discrimination.
Calderoli
now believes that Kyenge’s father, who is a tribal leader, has put an African
curse – “macumba” on him as punishment for the remark. Continue...
Since
his “orang-utan” comment, he has had six surgical interventions, the death of
his mother, fractured bones and just a week ago, he discovered a 6ft snake in
the kitchen of his house.
Last year, Oggi
Magazine filmed
Kyenge’s 75-year-old father Clement Kikoko Kyenge performing a ceremony in the village of Katanga
Calderoli’s
photo was placed on an enclosed termite mound during the traditional ceremony.
“The
photos and the video were unsettling. They put a picture of me in the middle of
a termite mound. That is not a friendly message,” said Calderoli to Oggi mag
when he saw the video.
He
said that after the video, he suffered the health scares and that two friends
gave him a lucky charm supposed to possess mystical healing powers but “two
days later, it broke in two by itself. A wizard has told me that there are
terrible forces acting against me”.
Mr
Kyenge later spoke to Oggi about Calderoli’s recent incidents.
He
replied, “A snake in the house is not a good sign and I’m not sure Calderoli
did well to kill it. If when he apologised to Cécile he was sincere, he can
feel comfortable. If, however, those excuses were insincere, the ancestors
might become angry.”
Photo Credit: The Independent UK
No comments:
Post a Comment