Maumoon: Claims of Yameen hiring a sorcerer are false

Former Maldivian president, leader of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and elder brother of current president Abdulla Yameen, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has denied the talk in media that President Yameen hired a sorcery from Sri Lanka.

Speaking in answer to a questioned posed by a reporter after the ceremony held at PPM Office to celebrate 100 new members from R. Inguraidhoo, Maumoon said that sorcery was not even something that was real.

“What I have to say is, if so, where’s all the work we did? If the president was elected through sorcery, what was it that we did? We travelled here and there in Maldives. Abdul Raheem travelled. Our candidate Abdulla Yameen travelled. We won this election through genuine hard work of all PPM members. I did not see that person you speak of involved in any of this. He played no role. It’s all lies,” said Maumoon.

When asked by a reporter if Maumoon had any knowledge of a relationship between President Yameen and Sri Lankan “black magician” Asela Wickramasinghe, Maumoon said that he had never even heard the name until he was shown the video in which Asela proclaims to have secured the election for President Yameen through sorcery.

“…I first heard the name the other night when I was shown the video. I didn’t even know of the person called Asela’s existence before that. I have never met him. I have never even heard of such a person before,” he said.

It was claimed in the documentary by RajjeTV that Asela performed black magic for President Yameen, that he was given a job at Maldivian High Commission in Sri Lanka, and that he was given the job as a Maldivian citizen.

When asked by a reporter whether PPM would look into claims Asela was given a job at the high commission as a Maldivian, Maumoon said that he was not given a job as a Maldivian.

“…It must not be true that he was given the job as a Maldivian citizen, isn’t it? I also heard that he worked there. But as a Sri Lankan citizen. There will be non-Maldivians working at embassies. In Sri Lanka and India. In Singapore and everywhere,” said Maumoon.

He said that Asela was never a Maldivian citizen, and that he had been informed he was assigned work and kept as an employee at the high commission by a government ministry.