Albinos Being Murdered in Tanzania for Body Parts

September 22, 2009

For quite some time now, members of the albino population in the East African nation of Tanzania have been being brutally murdered, literally slaughtered, by people who believe that potions and charms made from their body parts, usually created by witch doctors, will make them wealthy and cause their lives to be filled with good luck.  Albinism is a genetic condition that causes the absence of pigmentation to a person's hair, skin, and eyes.  In many parts of Africa, albinos are commonly spurned and singled out because of their condition, often because people believe their condition was caused by a curse having been placed on them by an enemy.  Many of the unfortunate victims have been children, who have been left to die after having their arms and legs crudely cut off, usually with a machete or similar cutting device.  It is a common practice for witch doctors to grind the victim's bones, one of the ingredients of the potions they sell as good luck charms for big bucks.

"They are cutting us up like chickens," one albino said.  "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 …."

One sad case involved that of 13-year-old Elizabeth Hussein, who left her home to walk to the village to watch a film about Jesus.  However, she never made it home.  After watching the film, she was attacked along her route by a mob, wielding machetes, who literally hacked her to pieces.

Since 2007, fifty-three known albino children and adults have been murdered in a manner similar to that of Elizabeth Hussein, so that their murderers can obtain money, often thousands of dollars, for their body parts.  In one instance, a man was accused of attempting to sell his 24-year-old wife to a Congolese businessman for $2,000, and in another instance a woman was accused of selling her albino baby daughter to a group of men who butchered her and drank her blood.

"My experience working with victims suggests that the perpetrators are greedy people who want to get rich quick," said a volunteer who works with a British charity.  "In rural areas, people can sacrifice their own child.  In urban areas, educated and rich people will look for somebody else's child."

Because the Tanzanian government seems to be doing very little to stop the senseless slaughter of innocent people for what most westerners would consider ridiculous nonsense, thousands of Tanzanian albino citizens are literally living in a state of "fear and abandonment," according to Peter Ash, the founder of the British Columbia non-profit group, Under the Same Sun, which is dedicated to help bring the slaughter of albinos in Tanzania and other African nations to an end.

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"With their government unable or unwilling to protect them from the machetes of the witch doctors' henchmen, there is no place to hide and little reason to hope," Ash said recently.  "To undermine witchcraft is to shake to some degree the foundations of their society."

Ash believes the aforementioned number of victims cited for 2007 is actually much greater than the fifty-three victims mentioned—probably at least double that number, he said.  One of the most recent victims was a four-year-old boy, whose murderers chopped off his small legs with machetes.

Recently, courts in the country's northwest region—where most of the murders have occurred—had a number of alleged perpetrators on trial for the crimes, possibly as many as seven but as few as four, depending upon which reports that one chooses to believe.  With only a few weeks remaining, however, the trials were abruptly halted, leaving the statistics to show that no one has been convicted of such crimes, yet.  Government officials cited a lack of funds for halting the trials.  Even police officers have been charged, yet no one has been penalized for the senseless slaughter.  A journalist, the BBC's Vicky Ntetema, said that a growing number of Tanzanians believes that no one has been punished because the witch doctors and those who commit murder for them are being protected by members inside the government and by the police.

"This is the general feeling," Ntetema said.  "The public is saying if you started the trial, it means you knew you had sufficient funds to complete the whole trial."

Ntetema said that she believes the politicians are trying to protect the customs and traditions of witchcraft, which has a long history in the country.  The efforts to stop the slaughter of the innocents are being hampered, in part, because of the number of businessmen involved who are always looking for ways to increase their wealth.  In the meantime, albinos continue to be slaughtered in the name of witchcraft, and the community of more than 8,000 albinos in Tanzania continues to live in constant fear for their lives.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

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Comments

[Brenda]

What is wrong with people? What is being done to help these people?

[Debra Jan Gentry]

This is wickedness in one of its worst forms..Whats wrong with this Goverment.Do they fear the Witch DRs that much?? Some other country needs to help these people out.An we know it really doesnt take anything to try these killers.Do it in the street-just try,convict-an shoot.These people,who are doing the harm.I cant imagin our children,or family being chopped up for a so call witch DR,to do hodo--Gods word speaks against this practice,an i know why!!!! Its evil,in every form-- fast,an pray for these people.God will always,win over cultural evil!!!!!!!

[jurdi gathoni]

i think Laws should be made to protect the albinos,something must be done,and fast,this is violation of human rights.

[Melissa]

These people need to be removed from this country and allowed to live some where safe from this superstition.