News / Africa
Witches targets albinos
06 Mar 2013 at 10:27hrs | Views
Albinos, whose body parts are prized by witch doctors, are being attacked in rising numbers in Tanzania, with children who are still alive having their limbs chopped off, the top United Nations (UN) Human Rights official said on Tuesday.
Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement, the killing and mutilation of people with albinism is often linked to witchcraft.
The statement said some practitioners seem to believe the witchcraft is more powerful if the victim screams during the amputation, which is why the body parts are often hacked from live victims.
Prosecutions are rarely successful with only five known cases of convictions out of the 72 murders of people with albinism documented in Tanzania since 2000 and the crimes are abhorrent.
Four attacks targeting people with albinism, including three children, have been documented in Tanzania from January 31 to February 15 this year.
Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement, the killing and mutilation of people with albinism is often linked to witchcraft.
Prosecutions are rarely successful with only five known cases of convictions out of the 72 murders of people with albinism documented in Tanzania since 2000 and the crimes are abhorrent.
Four attacks targeting people with albinism, including three children, have been documented in Tanzania from January 31 to February 15 this year.
Source - zbc
