Nairobi Rejects Extradition Request : Kenya Frees Ugandan Rebel Voodoo Priestess

NAIROBI, Kenya — A voodoo priestess who fled to this country after Ugandan troops slaughtered her rebel army has been released from prison, a Kenyan official said today.

Alice Lakwena, who anointed her troops with oils that they believed would ward off bullets, was turned over to the U.N. high commission for refugees, according to a high-ranking Kenyan government official who demanded anonymity.

New Vision, the Ugandan government newspaper, reported today that Lakwena was seeking political asylum through the United Nations after her three-month detention.

The Kenya government jailed Lakwena and seven of her Holy Spirit Movement followers in December on charges of entering the country illegally. Kenya had said it would turn the rebel leader over to the Ugandan government after she completed a four-month sentence.

But Lakwena appealed, and the Kenyan High Court ruled Feb. 11 that her case should be referred to the minister in charge of immigration to decide on extradition to Uganda. New Vision said Kenya had decided not to extradite Lakwena.

Lakwena, believed to be 28, was born to an Anglican clergyman in northern Uganda.

She began her crusade against the government of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in early 1987, claiming she was guided by a spirit demanding his ouster. She is known to followers as “Mama Alice.”