TANZANIA: 34 PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING ALBINOS

November 2, 2017:

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Tanzania announced the death sentence on 34 people accused of killing albinos in the country.
Beatrice Mpembo, a DPP lawyer, told a two-day meeting on combating the brutality and killings of people with albinism that the convictions stemmed from the killings that occurred between 2006 and 2016.
“The verdicts of several other people accused of killing albinos are still pending,” Mpembo said.
She pointed out at the meeting organized by the Tanzanian Commission on Human Rights and Good Governance in the political capital Dodoma that 67 cases are before the country’s courts.
According to the lawyer, her office had difficulty handling cases related to the killing and attacking of persons with albinism due to insufficient evidence.
“Family members of the victims are involved in several cases of killing albinos. It is therefore difficult to obtain sufficient evidence for lack of cooperation from relatives.
It revealed that the deadliest attacks against albinos occurred in 2008 with about 19 people killed.
Ralph Meela, a police officer, charged with offenses said that people with albinism or mothers of children born with the genetic disorder are deprived of their rights.
The killing of albinos in Tanzania is motivated by the belief that some parts of their bodies have magical powers. A recent UN report indicated that more than 70 albinos have died since 2000 in this East African country.