Albino Killers Should be 'Hanged'

Kelley Carter

26 September 2009

12:44 p.m.

A man was sentenced to death in Tanzania recently for murdering an albino. 53 albinos have been killed in Tanzania in the past two years. Their body parts are made into potions, which are thought to bring good luck and wealth. One BBC reporter says that there are over 100 people on death row, though no one has been put to death in more than 15 years. This is the first person to be convicted of an albino murder and the Tanzania Albino Society has called for having the man publicly executed to use as an example for other albino killers. Though the witch doctors that create the potions have been banned many still practice because often they and their clients hold a lot of power in the communities. This is particularly true for northern parts of Tanzania where you can make thousands of dollars from selling bones, skin and genitals taken from dead albinos. A neighboring country, Burundi has also sentenced someone to death for killing an albino and selling the body in Tanzania.

Whether or not the death penalty is a human rights violation is a complicated issue, but at least in this case it seems that more death sentences should be passed out. In a relatively small country 53 murders is a significant number, and having over 100 people on death row and only one of them is from killing albinos seems perhaps skewed. Though I’m thankful that no one has been executed in 15 years, I would hope that enforcing murders in such an endangered minority is a high government priority. Though outlawing witchdoctors, who are often highly venerated and influential in their communities, may be too general an group to outlaw because the witch doctors can preserve other more positive traditional practices.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8273139.stm