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Not only in Liberia
Ritual Killing Tanzania (>80 cases reported here)

Freedom of fear is a human right
Rule of law an obligation of the state

 


 
  1. Kenyan jailed for trying to sell albino
    A court in Tanzania has sentenced a Kenyan accused of trying to sell an albino to 17 years in jail and a fine of more than $50,000 (£41,200).

    The court sentenced Nathan Mutei after he pleaded guilty to human trafficking. Police said they arrested Mutei in a sting operation as he tried to sell an albino fellow Kenyan for the equivalent of more than $250,000.
    (....)
    Mutei, 28, was arrested just outside the town of Mwanza.
    (....)
    In Tanzania, the body parts of people living with albinism are used by witch-doctors for potions which they tell clients will help make them rich or healthy. Dozens of albinos have been killed, and the killings have spread to neighbouring Burundi.

    Tanzanian authorities have promised to crack down on albino traffickers, and several people have been sentenced to death in connection with killings.
    August 18, 2010
     

  2. Tanzanian Man Sentenced to Hang for Killing Albino Child
    A Tanzanian man, Kazimiri Mashauri, 50, was sentenced to death by hanging for murdering a 5-year-old albino child whose body was discovered in 2008 with the legs cut off and drained of blood (...).
    Dozens of albinos have been reported murdered in Tanzania where witchdoctors spread the false belief that expensive concoctions made from albinos’ limbs, genitals, hair and skin will bring good luck.
    (...)
    July 28, 2010
     
  3. Impunity for ritual murderers of albinos continues
    (in French)
    Summary in English:

    Three albinos have been murdered between february and april 2010 whereas in the same periode four attempts to kidnap and murder albinos failed. The Canadian ngo 'Under the same sun' ('Sous le même soleil') reports that ritual killers in Tanzania and in neighboring Burundi continue to get away with their heinous crimes. The related witchcraft practices are concentrated in the Lake Victoria region. Arms, legs, and parts of the victim's head sell for as much as US$ 75,000 whereas 'just one leg' costs US $ 3,000.
    (...).
    Last year about 40 albinos, most of them children, were murdered and mutilated for witchcraft purposes.
    (....)
    Since 2007 out of 57 ritual murders only in two cases perpetrators were brought to justice and condemned but the convicted manage to stay out of prison because of the involvement of higher-ups in these crimes, confirms Peter Ash, president of 'Under the same sun'.
    (...)
    May 10, 2010 
     
  4. Death for albino killers
    A court in north-western Tanzania has sentenced three men to death by hanging for killing a 14-year-old albino boy. They were found guilty of attacking Matatizo Dunia and severing his legs in Bukombe district in Shinyanga province. (...) this is the first conviction.

    (...)
    The three men attacked and killed the young boy last December - one of a string of more than 50 albino murders that have taken place in Tanzania over the past two years.
    (...)
    Witchdoctors in Tanzania and other parts of East Africa - especially Burundi - have made tens of thousands of dollars from selling potions and other items made from the bones, hair, skin and genitals of dead albino people. Witchdoctors pay a lot of money for body parts.
    (...) BBC Africa analyst Mary Harper says in a country as poor as Tanzania, it is likely that some murders will continue because so much money can be made from selling the body parts.
    (...)
    September 23, 2009
     
  5. Human Body Parts Don't Create Wealth
    (...)

    Human skin appears to be one of the most sought-after things by ritual killers in Africa.

    During the early 2000s, there were widespread cases of people being killed and skinned in Mbeya region of Tanzania and Mwiki outskirts of Nairobi. Investigations by the media and police revealed there was a high demand for human skin in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa where it fetched $2,400 (Sh180,000) to $9,600 (Sh180,000) depending on the age of the victim.
    (...)
    "They are cutting us up like chickens. Our biggest fear now is the fear of living. If you leave work at night as an albino you are unsure of reaching home safely. When you sleep you are unsure of waking up in one piece. In the streets you hear people plotting how they can get you," lamented Zihada Msembo, Tanzanian Albino Society secretary general.

    The case of Elizabeth Hussein, a 13-year-old girl from Shinyanga, is a testimony to the plight of albinos in Tanzania.

    After leaving home alone to watch a film about Jesus in the village centre, the girl had signed her own death warrant. On her way back, she was waylaid and hacked to bits by a machete-wielding mob.

    Official reports in Tanzania indicate that 35 albinos were murdered in 2008 (...) Reports also indicate that albino body parts harvested in Tanzania are being exported to neighbouring countries where they fetch higher prices. In one instance last year, a Tanzanian trader was intercepted travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo with an albino baby head in his luggage. (...).
    September 17, 2009
     

  6. Court told how albino was lured to his death
    Four people appeared before the High Court in Shinyanga yesterday charged with the murder of a 54-year-old albino man.

    It was the first time that suspects had appeared in court in connection with the wave of ritual killings targeting albinos that began two years ago.

    The four men, including two village leaders, were charged with murdering mentally retarded Lyaku Willy albino by slitting his throat before chopping off his legs, which they took away, and dumping the body in a well. The offence allegedly took place last November at Nkindwabuye Village in Bariadi District.
    (...)
    It is estimated that at least 45 people with albinism have been brutally murdered in various regions since 2007.
    (...)
    The killings are most prevalent in mining and fishing communities in the Lake Zone regions, especially Mwanza, Shinyanga and Mara.
    (...)
    Yesterday's trial opened a few weeks after 11 people appeared in court in Burundi, charged with the ritual killings of a dozen albinos.
    June 9, 2009
     

  7. Albino trials begin
    Seven people have gone on trial in Tanzania accused of murdering albino people and selling their body parts for use in witchcraft. More than 40 albinos have been killed there in the last 18 months.
    (...)
    Human rights organisations have expressed shock it has taken so long for the trials, in Shinyanga and Kahama in the north of the country, to begin.
    (...)
    In Shinyanga, in the north-west, four men pleaded not guilty to carrying out a gruesome murder. They were accused of attacking a young albino woman, cutting off her head and limbs which were stuffed into a plastic bag and then dumping her torso in a well.
    In nearby Kahama, three men also pleaded not guilty to killing a 13-year-old albino boy and severing his legs.
    (...)
    Last month, a similar trial began in neighbouring Burundi, with 11 men accused of attempting to killing albino people and selling their body parts. Some were believed to have been traded over the border to Tanzania.
    June 9, 2009
     
  8. Regional parliament decries albino killings
    The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has decried the killing of albinos in the region and urged "tougher measures" to stop the ritual murders and protect albinos. (...) At the ongoing meeting of the regional parliament in Bujumbura, Burundi, MPs from the five EAC member states called for regional cooperation to protect albinos victimised by superstitious fortune seekers.
    (...)

    More than 40 albinos have been murdered in Tanzania in the past year alone by fortune seekers acting on recommendations from witchdoctors.

    The killings are also rampant in some parts of Burundi and Kenya. The Tanzania Albino Society in Arusha says the total number of murdered albinos in the country is as high as 80.

    (...)
    The legislators said while "considerable progress" had been made on human rights issues in the EA region, the current killings and hostility portrayed towards the albino community showed there was still a long way to go in achieving the full respect for human rights.
    May 30, 2009
     
  9. Tanzanians urged to name albino killers
    Tanzania is launching a nationwide exercise urging the public to identify those behind dozens of murders of people with albinism.
    (...)
    Legal officials will gather the names and pass them to the police. President Jakaya Kikwete said the public should not fear retribution for naming the culprits.
    The killers reportedly sell albino body parts - including limbs, hair, skin and genitals - to witchdoctors who make potions promising to make people wealthy.

    In the past 15 months, 45 albinos have been slaughtered in Tanzania.
    (...)
    President Kikwete announced the nationwide exercise during his end of the month speech on Saturday. It will start within the next fortnight in the Lake Zone regions of Mwanza, Kagera, Mara and Shinyanga - where 44 out of the 45 albino murders have taken place.

    Our BBC reporter says more than 200 people - including alleged witchdoctors, their clients, hired killers and some of the victims' relatives - have been arrested in connection with the killings in the last year. No-one has so far been convicted, she says.
    (...)
    Last week, in neighbouring Burundi, assailants reportedly dismembered a six-year-old albino boy in his home in front of his parents, the eighth albino killing in that country.
    (...)
    Last month, a pastor was charged in Tanzania with being found in possession of the body parts of an albino.
    March 2, 2009

    Tanzanians urged to name albino kilers in private
    "Even the officer in charge ... will not know who you named," President Jakaya Kikwete said in a speech seen by Reuters on Wednesday. "I am urging you to help us in stopping these cruel acts and this shame on our country."
    (...)
    The violence has also spread to neighbouring states, with at least one albino murder each in Burundi and Kenya last year. Police in those countries say Tanzanians ordered the killings.

    The killing of albinos for witchcraft is not unique to east Africa. It is a common problem in several west African nations and one of the films at the pan-African film and television festival this year is about an albino murdered in Mali.
    (...)
    During a visit to Tanzania last week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded an end to what he called "superstitious behaviour" and an "unacceptable violation of human rights."
    March 4, 2009
     

  10. Illegal healers arrested
    Three traditional healers in northern Tanzania have been arrested for defying a government ban (...).
    It was meant to stop killings of people with albinism for ritual medicine. Their arrest follows charges against a pastor - Cosmas Mwasenga - who was allegedly found in south-western Tanzania in possession of the body parts of an albino.
    (...)
    Their arrests come days after the murder of a 14-year-old albino girl in the northern Mwanza region, bringing the national death toll to 45 since mid-2007.
    (...)

    Our reporter says more than 200 people - including witchdoctors, their clients, hired killers and some of the victims' relatives - have been arrested in connection with the killings in the last year.
    (...)
    February 23, 2009
     

  11. Shame of albino ritual murders - Editorial
    Despite the Tanzanian prime minister shedding tears during the just ended parliamentary sessions for people living with albinism, their killing for ritual purposes shamelessly continues.

    In one of the latest of such incidents, suspects — including a clergyman — were arrested in Mbeya with parts alleged to have been severed from the body of a murdered albino.
    (...)
    This absurd and barbaric practice must stop at once.
    February 21, 2009
     

  12. Albinos rally behind Premier on killings
    Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda's increasingly candid and emotive crusade against the ritual killings of albinos received a boost yesterday, with the announcement of a demonstration in the lakeside town of Mwanza in his support. (...) A group of albinos in the Lake Zone, which has been the epicentre of numerous brutal attacks on people suffering from the skin condition by crooks sent by witchdoctors to harvest their body parts, said they would demonstrate tomorrow to endorse Mr Pinda's stand against the killings. (...)
    They said they agreed with the Prime Minister's controversial statement that people caught red-handed, killing albinos should also be killed on the spot.
    (...)
    February 1, 2009
     

  13. Pinda sheds tears over albino killings
    Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda was yesterday moved to tears on the floor of Parliament in Dodoma, on being asked to explain his recent remark that those responsible for the ongoing brutal ritual killings of albinos in some parts of the country must also be killed.
    (...)
    In his clarification, Mr Pinda did not deny issuing such a statement, but said that it had be misinterpreted. He said his only intention was to show the seriousness with which the Government was addressing the albino killing menace.
    (...)
    The Premier added: "Since such incidents were first reported in 2006, some 34 people have been killed, 28 of them in the past year alone. We can't allow this to continue."

    Mr Pinda also said that 2,866 elderly people had been murdered in 10 regions in the past five years, an average of 573 a year, accused of practising witchcraft.

    "The Government is appalled at the rampant killings of albinos on witchcraft beliefs. These are nothing but ruthless killings, which have no justification at all," Mr Pinda told an attentive Parliament.
    (...)
    Mr Pinda sparked off the controversy in Tabora, where he addressed a rally shortly after visiting an albino child who had survived an attack by assailants who tried to chop off his hand.

    More than 30 albinos have been killed since 2006 by criminals commissioned to harvest their body parts, including genitals, limbs, breasts, fingers and tongues.

    These are reportedly in high demand from superstitious people involved in mining and fishing in the Lake Victoria Zone, especially Mwanza, Shinyanga and Mara regions.
    (...) Last November, Shinyanga Regional Police Commander Shaibu Ibrahim announced that 84 witchdoctors, eight suspected traffickers of albino body parts, and 17 "middlemen" had been arrested in recent swoops.
    January 30, 2009
     

  14. PM: Yes, killers of albinos should die
    People caught red-handed killing albinos should also be killed on the spot, Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda has reiterated.
    (...)
    "It may be an unusual statement by a prime minister, and I wish to confirm that I made the remarks to send a clear message to albino killers: they should know that if they are caught, they will have to face the fate they had hoped their victims would suffer," he said in an exclusive interview with The Citizen.
    (...)
    The Citizen had sought clarification from the prime minister after he was quoted as directing members of the ruling CCM's youth wing to kill people caught in the act of killing albinos. The remarks drew sharp criticism from human rights activists, legal experts and the opposition leaders.

    The opposition NCCR-Mageuzi said in a news conference on Sunday that Mr Pinda's remarks were 'irresponsible and totally unacceptable', and asked President Jakaya Kikwete to immediately sack him. The party's secretary-general, Mr Samuel Ruhuza, said the remarks made a mockery of the principles of the rule of law and encouraged mob justice.
    But Mr Pinda brushed aside the criticisms, saying
    "A person who knows that he will be killed when caught in the act of killing an albino will think twice before embarking on such an evil mission," (...)
    More than 58 people have been arrested in Mwanza, Mara, Kagera, Shinyanga, and Mbeya regions where the belief that albino body parts can make one fabulously wealthy virtually overnight is rife among fortune seekers.
    January 28, 2009
     

  15. Traditional doctors up in arms over ban by premier
    Traditional doctors have criticised the Government's decision to revoke their licences in a raft of measures announced Friday to stop albino killings in the country.
    (...)
    At a rally in Shinyanga Region on Friday, prime Minister Mizengo Pinda - during a tour of regions worst affected by albino killings - announced that all traditional doctors' licences had been cancelled with immediate effect. Shinyanga region has the largest number of traditional healers and is one of the areas worst hit by albino killings in the country.

    The PM called witchdoctors "big liars" (...) 

    Police and albino rights groups in the country say albino killers sell body parts including limbs, hair, skin and genitals to witchdoctors for use in rituals with fortune seekers.

    The national death toll of albinos in ritual related cases is now reaching nearly 40 since June 2007.
    More than 2,500 elderly people have also been killed countrywide since 2003 on suspicion of bewitching other people. In both cases, witch doctors are accused of playing the advisor role to the killers.
    (...)
    About 172 suspects have been arrested in connection with albino killings in the country. But albino rights groups and some members of the public say the judiciary has not been forthcoming in convicting the suspects. And the association of albinos in the country alleges that some police officers are receiving bribes from suspects of the killings.

    President Jakaya Kikwete once promised that the Government would provide special security arrangements for albinos in a bid to reduce the risks of attacks.
    January 26, 2009

    The Tanzanian authorities have arrested more than 90 people in recent months - including four police officers - on suspicion of killing albinos or of trading in theor body parts. There are thought to be more than 2000,000 albinos in the country, which has a total population of 40 million. The killings have spread to neighbouring states, with at least one albino murder each in Burundi and Kenya last year.
    January 26, 2009
     

  16. Two suspects arrested
    Police are holding two suspects in connection with the murder of a 48-year old albino, Jonas Maduka, at Sogoso village in Sengerema disctirct on Wednesday.
    (...)
    Maduka's killing brings to 35 the number of albinos killed countrywide since December 2007. Ritual murders have also killed 2,866 elderly women since 2003 mainly in Shinyanga, Tabora, Mwanza, Singida, Iringa, Kagera and Mbeya regions.
    (...)
    Jonas Maduka was killed at around 9:00pm when a group of people arrived at his house, asking him to show them a house of (....) But suddenly the strangers grabbed him, chopped off his right leg and fled with it. The body was found with wounds on the head, hands and the remaining leg, which was also about to be chopped off.
    (...)
    Upon getting information of Maduka's killing, Mwanza regional commissioner James Msekela, police special operations commissioner Peter Kivuyo and regional police commander Jamal Rwambow went to Sengerema the same day to investigate the murder.
    (...)
    Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda declared 2009 the year of war against witchcraft-associated killings of albinos in the country on Wednesday in a meeting with regional commissioners in Mwanza City.
    (...)
    During the meeting, Mr Pinda warned Mwanza regional commissioner James Mswekela that they risked punishment if they failed to protect albinos.
    January 24, 2009
     

  17. Some members of the police and judiciary allegedly collaborating with albino murderers
    Mwanza regional commissioner James Msekela said (...) Some police officers are discouraging informers and residents in the region who are tipping them off on the murderers. Others are dubiously releasing murder suspects from remand, said the regional commissioner in a speech to officiate a workshop on the widespread killings. Reading the speech on behalf of the RC, Magu district commissioner Matthew Nasei said some members of the police and judiciary were collaborating with albino murderers.

    Mwanza and Shinyanga regions are some of the areas where albino killings are rampant. The killers believe albino body parts function as charm to bring wealth.
    (...)
    Four members of an albino family including an expectant mother were recently killed on the same day in Magu District. The murderers, who had at first killed only one albino from the family, took the lives of the other three who had recognised them.
    (...)
    Secretary of the Sukumaland Traditional Leaders Association, Mr Charles Dotto said many people, including the well-educated who "are seeking promotions" and traders seeking overnight riches, were to blame for the killings.
    December 24, 2008
     

  18. Ritual killings: albinos hunted
    Every parent of an albino child has good reason to be frightened. Attackers snatch albino babies from their parents’ arms or attack them on the way to school. Others break into homes and grab them at gun-point. (...) Up to last month, hardly a day would pass without hearing of albinos being murdered and parts of their body missing. (...) It is believed that these albino body parts, when mixed with a special magic potion by witchdoctors, bring wealth.
    (...)
    The Tanzanian government has alerted authorities in the East African Community to form a comprehensive plan for ending this menace.
    (...)
    (According to Reuters on Thursday, 25 albinos have fled village homes near Burundi’s border with Tanzania to the small town of Ruyigi in fear for their lives. They are under police protection.
    (...)
    Press reports show that at least 100 Albinos have been killed in Tanzania in the past nine months. The killings have been rampant in Mwanza, Mara, Shinyanga, Kigoma in the Lake Victoria zone neighbouring Uganda and in Kagera near Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

    Police statistics show that Mwanza has the highest number of witchdoctors with at least 3,000 registered.
    (...)
    According to a BBC report, last month, one albino, Nyerere Rutahiro, was having supper in his home’s modest rural compound when four strangers burst in. His wife could not restrain them from hacking Rutahiro’s arms and legs with machetes. She said Rutahiro bled to death while his hackers took off with his limbs. The community mobilised to bury the father of two in a cement-sealed grave to protect it against grave robbers who were expected to return for the other body parts.
    (...)
    The BBC hired a sorcerer-turned-born again to do an undercover story. Shilinde, 41, had confessed at Sengerema Evangelical Lutheran Church that he had been a wizard since the age of three and had fled his region for fear that his fellow sorcerers and witches would be angered by his new faith. Undercover, he found witchdoctors who were promising a magic concoction mixed with ground albino organs. The starting price was $2,000 (sh3.9m) for the vital organs. Another witch boasted that the police were also his customers and that he could make a special potion mixed with ground male and female private parts to enable people to commit armed robbery without being caught.
    (...)
    Albinos have gone into hiding, while others have flocked urban centres where they feel a little safer. In Dar es Salaam, the albino community organised a rally to denounce the killings and called for more protection.

    Tanzania Police say witchdoctors, middlemen and the clients who pay for albino body parts are among the 173 people in custody so far. None has been prosecuted. For a long time, albinos have been marginalised as society deems them a curse.
    December 5, 2008
     

  19. Hunted Tanzanian albinos face 'non-future' 
    At least 30 albinos, including a seven-month-old baby, have been killed in Tanzania since March.

    They are targeted by killers because of the belief that their body parts can make magic potions more effective.

    As part of the initiative against the killings, a former airline clerk called Al-Shymaa Kway-Geer was appointed to be Tanzania's first albino MP.

    Ms Kway-Geer says (...) "For two years the killings are continuing. Before, many years back, when an albino was born, they were killed instantly," she said. "But at the moment they're killing them; they need their body parts. They say they'll get wealth through our body parts, which is very, very rude - it's a rudeness."

    She says she has been unable to find out who is responsible for the killings. "This person must be very strong because whenever the President speaks about these killings, they kill an albino," she said.
    (....)
    She says all albinos in Tanzania live with the stress of a "non-future".

    "When I was young it was a little bit different. I was called names, abused, discriminated, stigmatised. But there was no stress like the moment. At the moment another enemy is around. Our enemy normally is sun, but there is second enemy - the killers."
    (...)
    December 1, 2008
     

  20. President Kikwete meeting with albinos
    Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has met albinos protesting against the killing of members of their community for alleged ritual purposes.
    Organisers of the demonstration in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, urged the government to do more to protect albinos following the murder of 30 albinos, some of them babies over the past year.  Several people have been arrested in connection with the murders amid allegations that witchdoctors want their body parts for potions which they say make people rich.
    October 20, 2008

    Albinos demonstrating to protest
    Albinos in Tanzania are due to hold their first ever demonstration later today to protest against the killing of members of their community for ritual purposes.
    October 19, 2008

    Albinos go underground
    Following a desperate manhunt for ritual purposes, all albinos have gone into hiding for fear of their lives. These days, they are hardly seen in the public. Where they are seen at all, they go with escorts.
    October 11, 2008

    Albinos issue threat to flee the country
    Some albinos in Tanzania have said they would seek refuge in other countries if the Tanzania Government fails to control ritual killings frequently targeting them. Addressing a press conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday, the chairman of the Albinos Association Tanzania, Mr Ernest Kimaya, said presently 26 albinos have reportedly been killed, most of them women and children. He said no suspect had been jailed as a result of the ritual killings as most went scot-free.
    October 15, 2008


    Living in fear: Tanzania's albinos
    Twenty-five people with albinism have been murdered in Tanzania since march, a BBC investigation has found. Albino's are targeted for body parts that are used in witchcraft (...). The last victim was a seven-month-old baby. The last adult albino to be murdered - just a few weeks ago - was Nyerere Rutahiro. (...)
    July 21, 2008
     

  21. Tanzania albinos targeted again
    Tanzanian police say another albino man has been murdered - the 26th victim in the country in under a year.
    The attackers reportedly severed the man's right foot and genitalia. His wife, also an albino, was also injured.
    July 27, 2008
     
  22. When mps believe in witchcraft!
    Newspaper headlines were, in the past few days, dominated by a suspected witchcraft incident which took place at Parliamentary premises, located in the national capital of Dodoma.
    (...) 
    The saga started with a rumour that on the eve of the 2008/2009 budget day, an alleged superstitious MP accompanied by a staff member of the Speaker`s Office sneaked in the Parliament chamber under cover of darkness and sprinkled some powdery concoction on some legislators` seats, for reasons best known by the respective characters.
    (...) reaction to the rumour was fast and pronounced. Some MPs were not only perplexed by the motive behind the alleged night ritual, but also wondered aloud whether it was safe to occupy their seats in the House.

    Reports that one of the outspoken MPs became seriously ill after attending a session in the chamber, a day after the controversial incident, added fuel to the fire.

    Thereafter, one development led to another. (...)  the issue surfaced even during the National Executive Committee meeting of the ruling Party. It also featured in the introductory remarks of Mr. Speaker while opening the debate on the 2008/09 Government budget. With this kind of interventions, the drama turned into a national issue.

    It is on this basis that some observers wonder whether most of our Honourable MPs can have guts to fight ritual albino killers, human being skinners, ritual cannibalists, and all those participating in anti-social witchcraft-related malpractices.
    June 22, 2008
     
  23. Another albino woman murdered
    Early this year, remains of another mutilated albino woman from the same region were recovered in Tanzania missing some body organs.
    Last week, a mob burnt to death 15 women accused of witchcraft in the same region.
    In April, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete instructed police to step up the hunt for so-called witch-doctors involved in murders and to make provisions available so that all albinos in the country can be registered in order to increase security for them. A Tanzanian albino group recently said it was being targeted by witch-doctors, following a string of murders.
    May 28, 2008
     
  24. Deadly harvest of body parts
    Many albinos - some estimates put the number at over 50 - have been killed in various parts of Tanzania in recent months for get-rich rituals.

    The problem has reached such proportions that Tanzania's President, Jakaya Kikwete, used his monthly television address to announce a crackdown on the traditional healers as well as plans to register albinos to improve their safety. "These killings are shameful and distressing to our society," said Mr Kikwete in his Wednesday night speech to the nation. "I am told that people kill albinos and chop their body parts, including fingers, believing they can get rich."

    Kenya, Uganda, the DRC are alo mentioned in the article as well as Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa.
    May 5, 2008

     
  25. Tanzania in witchdoctor crackdown
    Tanzania's president Jakaya Kikwete has ordered a crackdown on witchdoctors who use body parts from albinos in magic potions to bring people good luck or fortune.
    "I am told that people kill albinos and chop their body parts, including fingers, believing they can get rich when mining or fishing," he said.
    The order comes after the murder of 19 albinos in the last year.
    (...)
    In the past, Tanzania's Albino Society (TAS) has accused the government of turning a blind eye to the killing of albinos. There are more than 8,000 registered albinos in Tanzania, although TAS believes there to be 150,000 among the country population of some 35m.
    April 3, 2008
     
  26. Tanzania fear over albino killing
    Tanzania's Albino Society has accused the government of turning a blind eye to the killing of albinos, after four deaths in the past three months.
    (...)
    A teacher in the northern town of Arusha has been arrested for killing his own child, who was albino.
    (...)
    Old women with red eyes have been killed in parts of Tanzania in the past, after being accused of witchcraft but our correspondent says this is the first time that albinos have been targeted in ritual killings.
    December 17, 2007
     
  27. Tanzanian 'with killers' charged
    Some 20 people in Tanzania  - near Makete in Iringa region - have been charged with murdering seven men they suspected of practising witchcraft. Among the accused are village leaders and other local officials, who ordered the killings, according to the police.
    (...)
    Two months ago, villagers in a neighbouring district used a secret ballot to make a list of people who they claimed were responsible for killing old women and removing their internal organs for witchcraft purposes.
    (...)
    Witchcraft-related murders seem to occur in this region during the harvest season, when some people believe that if fresh human blood or dried and powdered internal human organs are sprinkled over land and buildings then business will be successful. In recent years, the trade in human organs has been on the increase in this southern part of Tanzania.

    Human skinning, which hit the headlines two years ago, still haunts neighbouring Mbeya region where six young people were thought to have been killed and skinned.
    August 4, 2004
     

  28. Tanzania fights human skinning
    Exhibits of skin are part of Tanzania's campaign to discourage the trade in human skin at an international business fair in the capital. Vistors to the the week-long fair in Dar es Salaam will see a rather gruesome exhibit of human body parts in an effort to raise awareness about the underground trade in human skin which has hit southern Tanzania over the past two years.
    (...) According to police the skins are in huge demand outside Tanzania. They are transported to Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo before reaching their final destination in West Africa. "People are skinned and the skin is used for their rituals." Ms Machube said.

    In 2001 police broke a skin-smuggling ring and 13 people were charged with murder.

    A total of six young people are thought to have been killed and skinned in the Mbeya region of south-western Tanzania. Ezekiah Swila was 13-years-old when his body was found skinned at Kisinga village. Three more cases followed in Ileje and Mbozi, both districts in Mbeya, near the Zambian border.
    July 4, 2003


     

Warning!
Some of the following links lead to graphic pictures and description of ritual practices including murders.
 

Under The Same Sun: A comprehensive site about Persons with Albinism in Tanzania  www.underthesamesun.com

Tanzanian albinos fight for survival: NBC Nightly News went to Tanzania to examine the threat of death faced there by people with albinism.
January 1, 2009 video

Under The Same Sun founder Peter Ash estimates the total number of deadly victims to be twice the official figure. December 3, 2008 interview with Peter Ash - CTV News Calgary. click here for the shocking 5 minutes interview 

BBC video on the horrifying spate of killings of albinos in Tanzania.
August 2008 video (9 minutes)

New York Times online edition airs news brief on albino killings in Tanzania.
June 2008 video (3-4 minutes)

Al Jazeera on the killings of albinos.
July 2008 video (12 minutes)

UNICEF condemns ritual murders - Dec. 23, 2008 According to the Tanzania Albino Society (TAS) more than 35 albinos have been killed so far this year, with many other such cases unreported. (....) The violence has also spread into Burundi, where a number of Albinos, including children, have been murdered over the past few months.
(...)
Cases of albino killings have been in the spotlight for almost two years now. This wave of cruelty is unprecedented in Tanzania's history, with the most affected areas being the Lake Victoria regions of Mara, Mwanza, Shinyanga and Kagera, which border Burundi Uganda and Rwanda. (...) Incidents have been reported in other parts of Tanzania as well.
(...)
The President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, has condemned the killings and called for tough action against perpetrators. It is worth noting that so far 173 suspects, including five policemen have been arrested in connection with the killings.
(...)
UNICEF condemns these heinous acts as a systematic violation of individual human rights that must be dealt with decisively.
December 23, 2008

The European Union condemns ritual murders of albinos - November 23, 2008 "Recent murders of albinos in eastern and central Africa have attracted worldwide condemnation. At least 36 albinos have been murdered in Tanzania and Burundi since March, apparently targeted because of the belief peddled by some witch doctors that albinos' blood or body parts have magical qualities that can bring riches or cure disease.

The European Union in September passed a resolution condemning the murders and calling for the killers to be prosecuted. The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has condemned recent attacks in Burundi and is working with the governors of some provinces there to protect albinos and to dispel the myths surrounding them. "
November 23, 2008
 

Mothers hacked in albino attacks 
Two mothers in western Tanzania have been attacked by gangs who were after their children who have albinism.
The women were hacked with machetes when the attackers failed to find the two children.
November 14, 2008

Police in southwestern Tanzania say they have arrested a man accused of attempting to sell his albino wife.  The man was allegedly planning to sell his wife to two Congolese businessmen for around $3,000.
November 13, 2008

Social evils seen rooted in selfishness
He said the current wave for leaders to amass wealth without regard to the hardships the faced, was the height of falling ethics on the part of the leaders that the people had trusted to bring them development. Mr Mbelwa mentioned the evils in society as rising incidences of corruption, embezzlement of public funds and the ritual killings of albinos and the elderly.
October 20, 2008


President Kikwete promises an end to ritual killings
President Jakaya Kikwete has vowed to increase public awareness countrywide and fight against the killing for ritualistic pursposes of Albinos as they planned an exodus out of the country.
He said already 48 Tanzanian's witch doctors and other suspects who are marketing albino skin, bones and hair countrywide have been arrested.

(...) the chairman of the Albinos Association, Mr. Ernest Kimaya said 28 albinos have been killed countrywide and most of them women and Children (...).
October 20, 2008

BBC operative goes under cover to the hut of a witchdoctor. He is recorded admitting to the use of albino body parts in potions.
July 24, 2008 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

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