Police in Mwanza yesterday arrested a Kenyan in a guest house attempting to sell an albino, also a Kenyan national. Addressing a press conference in his office, the Mwanza regional police commander, Mr Simon Siro, said Mr Nathan Mutei,28, was selling Mr Robinson Mkwama,20, for Sh400 million. RPC Siro said the two had arrived in Mwanza through illegal routes on August 12 from Kitale in the Rift Valley where Mr Mkwama was working as a hawker. They had no travel documents when they were arrested, he said. According to RPC Siro, both Kenyans are long time friends and belong to the Luhya tribe. He said Mr Mkwama had finished Form IV in Kenya. RPC Siro said Mr Mutei managed to lure Mr Mkwama that he would find him a bus conductor’s job in Mwanza through his contacts, assuring him that the job pays well. According to Mr Siro, the two were staying at River Side Hotel in Buzuruga ward, Nyamagana District. The police received a tip from Good Samaritans that there was a man selling an albino, he said, explaining: “He was looking for customers from the mining sector believing that they have the money to pay and the secret police posed as customers during their encounter at the hotel at about 4pm yesterday (Sunday).”
People at the hotel told the police that they overheard Mr Mutei telling Mr Mkwama that the boss was about to arrive any time soon, but in a very discreet manner.
RPC Siro refused to disclose the whereabouts of Mr Mkwama or whether he will also be charged for entering Tanzania illegally. But he insisted that the police are keeping him in a safe place as their key witness in the case. Tanzania has witnessed a spate of killings of people with albinism, ostensibly for witchcraft beliefs.
The killings forced the government and some international organizations to intervene and take legal action against the killers.
On July 27, the High Court, Lake Zone Division, sentenced Mashauri Kazimiri to death for the murder of a girl with albinism, Mariam Emmanuel,5. Mr Kazimiri killed Mariam on January 21, 2008 by chopping off her legs. The accused is said to have drunk the child’s blood on the night of the fateful event. Through his lawyer, Mr Kazimiri is challenging the conviction and sentence at the court of appeal. On February 11, this year, Mr Gerald Connelly, a US Congressman, filed a statement pressuring US President Barack Obama to take action against brutal albino killings in Tanzania and Burundi. Since 2007 there have been an estimated 53 albino killings in Tanzania and 11 in Burundi. In hopes of discouraging further violent acts being committed against albinos, four men were sentenced to death last February for the albino killings in Tanzania. Mike O’Maera of the Catholic Information Service of Africa (CISA) told Media Global that the issue of albinos has had special repercussions on the way people perceive each other and the whole idea of “quick” riches from witchcraft related rituals. Mr Andrei Engstrandneascu, the zonal communications manager of the Eastern Africa division of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said the price for a “complete kit” of albino body parts can be up to $75,000 (about Sh105million). These include legs, arms, hair, ears and genitals. “Authorities together with the Red Cross are engaged in explaining the health and genetic reasons behind albinism and promoting a culture of tolerance and harmony,” said Engstrandneascu. People suffering from this genetic disorder have health problems like skin cancer and poor eyesight, which often require medical attention.
Engstrandneascu explained: “The killings have spread such a fear that albinos – even if they have the (financial) means – do not dare travel long distances from their villages to the Dar es Salaam oncology hospital.”
In other instances, albinos living in rural communities are migrating towards cities for fear of their lives. In Tanzania, there have been 57 murders and six attempted murders where victims lost limbs. Of the 63 reported cases, three have so far ended up in conviction during the last three years. On the other hand, 12 of Burundi cases have led to conviction, according to a Canadian NGO called Under the Same Sun.
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