Case file · Witch trials
Sierra Leone's human leopard trials
In 1912 and 1913, a Special Commission Court in the Sherbro and Imperi areas of Sierra Leone tried dozens of people accused of killings by 'human leopard' societies, whose members were said to wear leopard skins and steel claws.
1912 CE · 7.53, -12.33 · status: official
The account
Colonial reports from the 1890s onward linked the killings to medicine made from human body parts. Accusations were also used by rival chiefs against one another, and those found guilty by diviners could be enslaved or burned. The plotted point is approximate.
The sceptical view
Historians debate how many killings were real society murders and how many were colonial or rival accusations; confessions were often obtained under pressure.