Writes Leo Odera Omolo InKisumu City.

At least 53 Tanzanians with albinism have been butchered and killed since 2007, according to the police reports cited by a Canadian Human Rights group called “Under The Same Sun”.

More than 90 people, including police officers have been arrested in connection with the killing, but none of the accused have been convicted of the capital offense of murder..

This spreading evil has reached epidemic proportions, according to Mr Peter Ash, the founder of Under ‘The Same Sun’ .

The Canada-based human rights group has severely criticized the Tanzanian government for failing to secure justice in the cases of albinos who have been slaughtered for their body parts.

“With the government unable or unwilling to protect them from the madness of the witchdoctors henchmen, the estimated 170,000 Tanzanians with albinism have no lasting hope in life”, declared the Canada-based campaigning group in a newsletter copied to major news agencies and medias houses the world over.

The group is urging the Tanzanian government to order for the immediate resumption of the trials of four suspected killers of albinos. The proceedings in Kahama and Shinyanga High Courts were recently suspended on the grounds that the courts have run out f funds.

Some Tanzanian are skeptical about that excuse, however. The National Post, a Canadian newspaper last week extensively quoted a prominent Tanzania journalist, Vicky Ntetema, who once worked with the BBC, as suggesting that the trials were stopped because the witchdoctors behind the albino killings are being protected by the police and top government officials with vested interests.

“This is the general feeling “, Mr. Ntetema told the Canadian newspaper. ”The public is saying, if you started the trial, it means you knew you had sufficient funds to complete the whole tria”.

Al-Sayman Kwegyre, Tanzanian only albino MP, has said the suspended trial will resume very soon. But Peter Ash says the government has given no indication of such a move.

Mr Ash question whether “There is any political will within the East African government to provide meaningful protection for its citizen with albinism”.

Mr Ash had disclosed that he met in April with the Tanzanian Prime Minister Nzenge Pinda, who along with President Jakaya Kikwete, had promised to bring the killers to justice. ”Those promises have not yet been fulfilled. He says his group now plans to travel to Tanzania next month to intensify campaign to pressure the government there told hold accountable what he described as “genocide against albino people”.

At least four Tanzanians with albinism have been killed in the past month. The most recent victim was four year old boy Muanda Sita of Madilana village in the Shinyanga Region in Central Tanzania. Reports say murderers armed with machetes hacked off the boys legs in a barbaric and brutal manner as he screamed in agony.

Mr Ash noted that 12 albinos have been murdered in Burundi, with the same kind of judicial apathy as Tanzania. Out of that, nine Burundian have already been convicted and all are serving prison terms for their role in these heinous killings.

Ends
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com

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From: Leo Odera Omolo
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Subject: tanzania is told to resume trial of the killers of albinos