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 More than 70 albinos, who lack pigment in their skin, hair and eyes,
have been murdered in the east African nation in the past decade for
black magic purposes, according to United Nations figures, many
hacked to death and body parts removed.
The government has accused witch doctors of fuelling these killings
by luring people to bring albino body parts which they grind up with
herbs, roots and sea water to make charms and spells that they claim
bring good luck and wealth.
The nationwide ban come less than a week after U.N. officials urged
the government to step up efforts to end the discrimination and
attacks after a girl was abducted last month from her home in
northern Mwanza region. She is still missing.
Tanzania's Home Affairs Minister Mathias Chikawe said the government
has formed a national task force involving the police and members of
the Tanzania Albino Society to arrest and prosecute witch doctors
defying the ban.
"We have identified that witch doctors are the ones who ask people
to bring albino body parts to create magical charms which they claim
can get them rich. We will leave no stone unturned until we end
these evil acts," Chikawe told reporters.
Chikawe said the operation would begin in two weeks time, initially
targeting five regions, including Mwanza, Tabora, Shinyanga, Simiyu
and Geita, where the government believes attacks against albinos are
most prevalent. The operation would be expanded to other areas
later.
He said the task force will also have the mandate to review previous
court cases of albino attacks and killings to gather new evidence
and further research the motive for attacks. The Director of Public
Prosecution would prioritize these cases.
The government has previously been widely criticized for failing to
act to stop these macabre murders.
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The Tanzania Albino Society welcomed the move, saying it would help
end the worsening plight of albinos.
"I believe we can work together to end these acts of pure evil,"
said spokesman Ernest Kimaya, a sufferer of the pigment disorder.
But Rashid Mauwa, a traditional healer from the Bunju area of Dar es
Salaam, said he feared the ban would lead to victimization of
healers of whom only a few engage in witchcraft.
"I am not engaging in any witchcraft. I am only using traditional
herbs to help people who do not respond to conventional medicines.
Why am I being punished?" he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Albinism is a congenital disorder which affects about one in 20,000
people worldwide, according to medical authorities. It is, however,
more common in sub-Saharan Africa, affecting an estimated one
Tanzanian in 1,400.
(Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)
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