Category Archives: albinos

Tanzania: 10 kidnapped children found dead with missing body parts

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Published: January 28, 2019
By: Bukola Adebayo – CNN

Ten children kidnapped in Tanzania have been found dead with their body parts mutilated, authorities told CNN on Monday.

Tanzania’s deputy health minister Faustine Ndugulile said all 10 children had been missing since December in Njombe district, southwest Tanzania. Their bodies were discovered last week after police launched a search operation in the area.

“So far, we have found 10 bodies, and most of their private parts and teeth had been removed,” Ndugulile said. “These murders are linked to witchcraft practices because that is the trend for such crimes, where herbalists ask people to get these human parts for money rituals,” he added. The children, some as young as seven, were kidnapped from their homes last month.

Many children have been reported missing by their parents in the community since December, according to Ndugulile, who said the health ministry was also investigating the wave of killings. “We want to identify the perpetrators, but our focus is to educate the traditional practitioners in the area quickly and those in surrounding communities on the need to stop these acts,” Ndugulile told CNN.

The Deputy health minister told CNN that these killings are not linked albino ritual murders which are prevalent in Tanzania and other parts of east Africa. “These murders are not linked to albino killings,” he said. “But it is very sad because they are children and they don’t deserve to be used like this,” Ndugulile said.

Tanzania has one of the highest rates of albinism in the world, at one in 1,500 people. 

Despite its prevalence, there’s still a lack of education and tolerance and albinos are regularly killed for their bones and organs, which are sold to witch doctors for “charms and magical potions”, according to Amnesty International.

Source: 10 kidnapped children found dead in Tanzania with missing body parts, ministry says

Related articles:

10 Kidnapped Children Found Dead in Tanzania With Missing Body Parts, Officials Say
Published: January 29, 2019
By: Jack Phillips – The Epoch Times

Ritual killing: Bodies of 10 children found with missing limbs, teeth
Piublished: January 29, 2019
By: Standard – Kenya

EDITORIAL: Solve and deter Njombe kind of child murders
Published: January 29, 2019
By: The Citizen, Tanzania

Ten children in Tanzania kidnapped and killed for their body parts, authorities say
Published: January 30, 2019
By: Elizabeth Llorente, Fox News

Witchcraft horror: Tanzania children have genitals and tongues cut off in ritual killing
Published: January 30, 2019
By: Ciaran McGrath – Express

Njombe Region, Tanzania

Malawi VP Chilima: ‘Stop ritual murders of albinos’

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As mentioned yesterday (Jan. 21, 2019), technical difficulties prevent me from duplicating here the original article in the Nyasa Times (the webmaster FVDK).

VP Saulos Cilima’s remarks come after unknown assailants (probably on December 31, 2018) killed 54-year old Yassin Kwenda Phiri, a person with albinism who was working as a hospital assistant at Kande Health Center in Nkhata Bay. Chilima’s UTM party has also issued a strongly worded statement condemning the murder.  Not surprisingly, Malawi will have elections in the near future, on May 23 of this year. 
Please also read the related article posted on January 21 on this site: ‘MP Kalindo threatens to reveal syndicate on albino ritual murders’.

VP Chilima: ‘Stop ritual murders of albinos’

Published: January 3, 2019
By: Nyasa Times

Source:
Security lapse worries Malawi VP Cilima: ‘Stop ritual murders of albinos’

Malawi: MP Kalindo threatens to reveal syndicate on albino ritual murders

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Political opponents who throw stones to each other making allegations that have not been proven should be listened to – but they are not necessarily to be believed immediately. One such politician is Mulanje South Member of Parliament Bon Kalindo in Malawi. He was recently arrested in Lilongwe and was charged with two counts of allegedly misconduct and of insulting the president.  MP Kalindo alleges his arrest was ‘politically motivated’. A few days after his release from prison – on bail – he was assaulted and severely beaten up.

Kalindo said his arrest has taught him a lot of things including getting to know the syndicate of albino killings.  He claims that the albino killings is a syndicate and it involves senior officials with big names hence the need to stop pushing the blame on witch doctors or rituals. “I will come back to reveal everything through this program once my case is settled in court.”, he said. “I have so many revelations to make”, he added. Kalindo made history in Malawi when he led a demonstration in favour of concrete action against perpetrators of attacks on people with albinism, in what was called ‘naked’ march.      

We will continue to follow this case (webmaster FVDK).

For technical reasons the original article in the Nyasa Times could not be duplicated. The summary above is based on the Nyasa Times article of January 20 (2019), staying as close as possible to the original text. (Webmaster FVDK)

Published: January 20, 2019
By: Nyasa Times

Source: Kalindo threatens to reveal syndicate on albino ritual murders: Brands DPP as a ‘party of savages’

Zambia: Albino Doctor murdered in Kapiri

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As explained below, this is not with certainty a ritual murder case. We have to be careful not to judge too quickly and only accept clear facts before   concluding that another albino person has become victim of superstition. Unfortunately, there are too many examples in Zambia and other African countries that the life and safety of a person living with albinism are in danger and are being threatened on a daily basis. This explains the reaction of the Albino Community in Zambia. People have a right to live without fear. That’s a human right. (webmaster FvdK). 

Published: January 15, 2019
By: Chris Phiri 

Masked criminals have killed a medical Doctor Lewis Chola, an albino person who was attached to the Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka in circumstances that has shocked his family and send fears to the Albino Community in Zambia.

The masked assailants abducted Dr. Chola, from his home in Kalingalinga in the evenings on 3rd January, 2019.

Information gathered suggest that the abductors later demanded for a 5000 Kwacha ransom from his Family before killing him and dumped his body near a Lodge in Kapiri Mposhi.

The deceased body had no parts missing to suggest that his killing could be a ritual murder but the Albino Community through Gift Sakala, a representative of the Albino Multipurpose corporative, the Zambia Police has been called upon to thoroughly investigate the matter.

Source: Albino Doctor murdered in Kapiri

Kapiri Mposhi District – Zambia

Mali: Salif Keita retires, his Golden Voice falls silent

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This tribute to Salif Keita is long overdue. I first met this great Malian musician in Ségou, a regional capital city in south-central Mali in the early 1980s. With a big band of more than 20 musicians, Salif Keita performed in the open air court of a second-rate hotel in the outskirts of this modest city. It was a hot, humid Saturday night in August, 1984. We were in the middle of the rainy season. I was struck by the versatility of his music: African, Caribbean, Latin American, jazzy. He captivated the audience, all music lovers from Mali. I was the only white person in the crowd. From that day on, I was a passionate fan of this allround musician and singer.

I was also very much impressed by Salif Keita’s modesty. Greeting ceremonies in Mali are complicated and lengthy. One day, in the late 1980s, I was standing next to the reception desk in the lobby of (then) one of Mali’s most luxurious hotels – Hotel de l’Amitié in Bamako, the country’s capital – waiting for an appointment who was late.  It was around 7:30 a.m. I saw Salif Keita stepping out of the elevator, walking towards the reception desk and greeting everyone behind the desk . When he was done he continued greeting the by-standers, including me. He took his time, he greeted everybody as if they were his brothers and sisters. Maybe they were, because in Mali many people are related – somehow, somewhere.  

The third time I came face to face with Salif Keita was at the Africa festival in Hertme, the Netherlands, in 2013. Salif had become a middle-aged gentleman in his sixties, slightly corpulent, but his music was as brilliant as ever!

Salif Keita’s star will continue to shine, also after this retirement.  As a person with albinism he has realized one of the most envied goals one can imagine. Millions have enjoyed his music – and still do. He is world famous. In the future he will continue to raise his voice against the discrimination of people living with albinism, against the murder and mutilation of innocent people, men, women, children, even babies who are being victimized because of their albinism.  His last public performance was at a free concert on November 17 in Fana, in Mali, dedicated to the memory of Ramata Diarra, a five-year-old girl with albinism who was brutally murdered then mutilated in a ritual killing in May of this year. It will certainly not be the last time we’ve heard of Salif Keita. His struggle is our struggle. A luta continua!
(webmaster FVDK)

Salif Keita retires, his Golden Voice falls silent

Published: November 24, 2018
By: Charles Onyango-Obbo

Malian afro-pop singer-songwriter Salif Keita. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the “Golden Voice of Africa” but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

The great Malian musician Salif Keita, dubbed the “Golden Voice of Africa,” has announced his retirement from performing.

The 69-year-old Keita made the announcement after the release of, supposedly, the last album of his storied career. Titled Another White, it is a cry for the protection of people with albinism, a cause he has championed all his life.

Born into a local royal house, Keita was rejected by his family because of his albinism, considered either a sign of bad luck in many African cultures – or mysterious power, which drives the ritual killing of people with albinism.

In East Africa, Tanzania and Burundi are notoriously dangerous places to be a person with albinism.

Appropriately, Keita gave what could be his last major public performance at a free concert on November 17 in the town of Fana, in Mali, dedicated to the memory of Ramata Diarra, a five-year-old boy living with albinism who brutally murdered then mutilated in a ritual killing early in the year.

I am one of those Africans for whom Keita offered one of the defining sounds of our youthful years. There is something unique about Keita’s generation of musicians, along with other luminaries like Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango, and Guinea’s Mory Kante, and on the more youthful end, Senegal’s Youssou N’dour, to name a few.

First, their music isn’t always overtly political, though it is. They sing in their native tongues, and draw heavily from folk imagery, local culture, history, and communal stories.

Probably as a result of that, they function like mediums, so bring a great ease to their art. It is almost annoying.

Some years ago, at an Africa arts festival in Copenhagen, over the course of a week I watched performances by Keita, N’dour, and Malian kora player Toumani Diabate one after another.

They mesmerised the crowds but Keita and Diabate especially barely broke a sweat. It was as if they could have still have pulled it off even if they were half asleep.

That was in stark contrast to watching the performances of Hugh Masekela or Fela Kuti, some of the most political musicians to have come out of Africa.

They laid into their music and its politics with incredible energy and fury that left you giddy with revolutionary spirit. Going to the street to protest oppression or the bush to join the rebellion, seemed to be the next logical step.

But it’s in that contrast that the music of Keita and others in his musical tribe reveals their relationship to the broader African liberation experience.

In the Cold War era, when music often ran into ideological walls, and the troubled 1970s and 1980s in Africa, Masekela and Kuti played to an internationalist solidarity crowd that had bought into the anti-apartheid and anti-imperialist movements, were angry at the World Order, and wanted to overthrow it.

People like Keita won over the fence-sitters, the ignorant, the soccer moms, and people of goodwill. They didn’t fit the stereotype of flame-throwing radicals, and thus lowered the cost of embracing progressive African causes in a polarised world.

Closer home, The Man, Congolese great Franco Luambo Makiadi, had a similar effortless genius.

One of the most accomplished musicians Africa will ever produce, on stage his massive figure seemed a strangely reluctant presence – until he opened his mouth and moved his guitar fingers.

Charles Onyango-Obbo is publisher of data visualiser Africapaedia and Rogue Chiefs. Twitter@cobbo3

Source: Salif Keita retires, his Golden Voice falls silent

Mali: Salif Keïta rejects the tragic fate of albinos “sold in pieces”

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Salif Keïta dénonce le sort tragique des albinos «vendus en pièces détachées»

Salif Keita rejects the tragic fate of albinos “sold in pieces”

Malian singer Salif Keïta at a press conference in Nairobi, Kenya, on August 25, 2015 ringing alarm bells about the tragic fate of albinos in Tanzania where presidential elections will be held shortly. Le chanteur malien Salif Keïta, lors d’une conférence de presse à Naïrobi (Kenya) le 25 août 2015. Il avait tiré la sonnette d’alarme sur le sort tragique des albinos en Tanzanie à la veille des élections présidentielles dans ce pays.

Published: September 21, 2018 – 2:48 PM
By: Martin Mateso

There is no reason to lean back even though the disaster is widespread, repeats Malian singer Salif Keïta. He prepares an international conference on the tragic fate albinos are facing, planned for November 2018 in Bamako, Mali. Everywhere on the African continent, people with albinism are being chased by ruthless criminals who commit their heinous crimes unpunished.

Salif Keïta is still in shock after the ritualistic killing of a 5-year old Malian girl, Ramata Diarra, who was abducted by armed men who beheaded her, in Fana (Mali) on May 13, 2018 and fled with her head.

Ritual murders that go unpunished

A suspect was arrested but the authorities have never published the results of the investigation held after the murder of Ramata Diarra. For this reason the Malian singer is worried. He fears that in the end this crime will be another murder case that will never be solved.

(…) “Each time when elections are being held, two, three, even more than ten albinos disappear” Salif Keïta accuses. (…)

Translated by the webmaster FVDK.

The original article, in French, is much longer and reads as follows:

Il n’est pas question de baisser les bras malgré l’ampleur du désastre, martèle le chanteur malien Salif Keita. Il prépare, pour le mois de novembre 2018 à Bamako, un forum international sur le sort tragique des albinos, décimés aux quatre coins du continent africain, en toute impunité.

Salif Keita est encore sous le choc depuis qu’une fillette malienne de 5 ans, Ramata Diarra, a été enlevée par des hommes armés qui l’ont éventrée et décapitée, le 13 mai 2018 à Fana, dans le centre du Mali. Sa tête a été emportée par ses ravisseurs.

Des crimes rituels qui restent impunis
Un suspect a été arrêté par la police, mais aucune suite de l’enquête n’a été rendue publique. D’où l’inquiétude du chanteur malien. Il a peur que ce crime s’ajoute à une série d’autres dont les enquêtes n’ont jamais abouti.

«Les albinos veulent vivre sans être poursuivis, sans être vendus en pièces détachées… Nous comptons sur les avocats extérieurs, pas sur les avocats maliens pour nous aider à creuser ce problème. Nous allons nous battre pour cela», a-t-il déclaré à la presse en lançant une campagne de sensibilisation sur l’albinisme.

Des Noirs à la peau blanche
Salif Keita est lui-même atteint d’albinisme, une maladie héréditaire qui provoque une absence partielle ou totale de pigmentation de la peau, des cheveux et des yeux. Des Noirs à la peau blanche perçus comme une malédiction.

Les personnes albinos font l’objet de crimes rituels perpétrés par ceux qui leur attribuent des pouvoirs magiques. Leurs organes sont particulièrement recherchés lors des élections par ceux qui sont convaincus qu’il s’agit d’arracher le membre d’un albinos pour remporter un scrutin. Le calvaire de la petite Ramara Diarra a précédé de peu l’élection présidentielle malienne organisée en juillet et en août 2018.

«Chaque fois qu’il y a des élections, il y a deux, trois, voire une dizaine d’albinos qui disparaissent», s’insurge Salif Keita.

Salif Keita, la voix des albinos
Depuis plusieurs années, le chanteur malien lutte contre la folie meurtrière qui frappe les albinos. Il a créé en 2006 la Fondation Salif Keita pour défendre leur cause. La campagne qu’il vient de lancer, en partenariat avec d’autres associations maliennes et ouest-africaines, vise à changer le comportement de ses compatriotes envers les personnes qui vivent avec cette anomalie.

Salif Keita a lui-même été discriminé, méprisé, injurié et humilié avant de se réfugier dans la musique et de connaître un succès international. Il est devenu la voix des albinos à travers le monde et particulièrement en Afrique où il se bat pour leur protection et leur insertion sociale.

«Il est inacceptable que des êtres humains en sacrifient d’autres. C’est le produit de l’ignorance. Les albinos naissent et grandissent comme tout le monde. Ils ont besoin d’être aimés et considérées comme des personnes normales», avait-il confié à l’AFP lors d’une visite en Afrique de l’Est en août 2015.

Salif Keita achevait une visite en Tanzanie où des hommes politiques sont régulièrement accusés d’acheter des membres d’albinos pour faire de la sorcellerie ou pour fabriquer des porte-bonheurs. Selon des experts des Nations Unies, leurs membres sont négociés aux alentours de 600 dollars. Les corps entiers pouvant atteindre 75.000 dollars.

Dans la vidéo ci-dessous, Salif Keita raconte son enfance difficile et le combat qu’il a dû mener dans une société qui le tenait à l’écart (Les albinos d’Afrique, victimes de croyances archaïques, un sujet réalisé par Eleonore Abou Ez pour France Info).

The above illustration is a screenshot of the original. No link attached. Please follow the link in the original article – see “Source” below – to view the video (in French). In the video, Salif Keïta speaks out about the insults, discrimination and other difficulties he had to endure when he was young and his struggle to gain a decent place in the society that rejected him (Albinos in Africa, victims of primitive beliefs, video made by Eleonore Abou Ez for France Info).

Source: Salif Keita dénonce le sort tragique des albinos “vendus en pieces détachées”

In Fana, Mali, a five-year old girl with albinism was murdered in May 2018.

Mali: Salif Keïta gives a live concert in honor of a murdered albino girl

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Picture shows famous Malian singer Salif Keïta (center) and members of his foundation giving a live concert in protest against the ritualistic murdering of albinos in Africa – Fana, Mali, on November 17, 2018. AFP | MICHELE CATTANI
Le chanteur malien Salif Keita (au centre) et les membres de sa fondation durant un concert destiné à dénoncer les meurtres rituels d’albinos en Afrique, le 17 novembre 2018 à Fana, au Mali | AFP | MICHELE CATTANI

Au Mali, un concert événement de Salif Keïta rend hommage à une fillette albinos assassinée

Mali: Salif Keïta gives a live concert in honor of a murdered young girl with albinism

Published: November 18, 2018
By: Kassim Traoré – Fana (Mali) (AFP)

Saturday night, legendary Malian singer Salif Keïta gave a live concert, presenting his latest album, in Fana, a small town in the south of Mali, where a 5-year old girl with albinism was found dead – murdered – in May of this year. The live concert was in honor of all murdered albinos in Africa and in protest against these horrible crimes.

In a football stadium packed to capacity in this small town of some 20,000 inhabitants – 120 km from the capital Bamako – 69-year old Salif Keïta, himself albino, was accompanied by Ismaël Lô (from Senegal), Bera, an albino artist from Georgia, Malian comedian Yao and singers Safi Diabaté (Mali) and Maah Koudia Keït (Senegal), all fighting for the noble cause of people living with albinism in Africa.

On May 13, a five-year old girl, Ramata Diarra, was kidnapped by armed men while sleeping at her parents’ place. Her dead body was found a few hours later, beheaded, next to a mosque. People immediately linked her death to a ritual killing in view of the forthcoming elections in the country. (….)

Translated by the webmaster FVDK

For more information see ‘Albino girl abducted and killed in Mali’, dated May 16, 2018 and related articles – on the present website.

The original article, in French, is much longer and reads as follows:

La légende de la musique africaine Salif Keïta a présenté samedi soir son nouvel album à Fana, petite ville du Mali où une fillette albinos de cinq ans a été assassinée en mai, lors d’un concert hommage destiné également à dénoncer les meurtres rituels d’albinos en Afrique.

Dans un stade de football archi-comble, un événement jamais vu dans cette localité de quelque 20.000 habitants située à 120 km de Bamako, le musicien de 69 ans, atteint lui-même d’albinisme, s’était entouré du Sénégalais Ismaël Lô, de l’artiste géorgien albinos Bera, de l’humoriste malien Yaro ou encore des chanteuses malienne Safi Diabaté et sénégalaise Maah Koudia Keït, militante elle aussi de la cause des personnes albinos.

Le 13 mai, la petite Ramata Diarra, cinq ans, avait été enlevée en pleine nuit par des hommes armés alors qu’elle dormait dans la cour de la concession familiale. Son corps décapité avait été retrouvé quelques heures plus tard à côté d’une mosquée. Des associations avaient alors dénoncé un “crime rituel” à l’approche de l’élection présidentielle.

“Pourquoi ôter la vie d’une innocente, d’une fillette de cinq ans? Pourquoi s’attaquer aux albinos? Nous sommes comme tous les autres humains. Nous ne voulons plus voir ça au Mali. Il faut que nos autorités prennent des dispositions, parce que désormais, nous n’allons plus nous taire”, a dit sur scène Salif Keïta.

Chaque année, des dizaines d’albinos sont victimes en Afrique d’attaques, tués et amputés de leurs membres qui sont ensuite utilisés pour des rituels censés apporter richesse et chance.

“Aujourd’hui, tout le monde sait qu’une fillette de cinq ans a été assassinée à Fana parce qu’elle est albinos. Le monde s’est mobilisé pour la cause de ma fille, que ce monde ne baisse plus les bras afin que les albinos puissent vivre en paix partout dans le monde”, a confié à l’AFP, en marge du concert, la mère de la fillette, Diarra Awa Touré.

“Au début je me sentais seule, mais avec ce grand concert et les condamnations faites devant le monde, je ne me sens plus seule”, a-t-elle ajouté.

– ‘Dernier album’ –

Dans l’espace réservé aux invités, juste devant la scène, Ousmane Wélé Diallo, tout de blanc vêtu, explique être venu de Bamako avec sa femme et ses enfants pour “suivre le concert et soutenir notre cause en rendant hommage à Ramata Diarra”. “Je n’aime pas quand il y a trop de lumières, surtout les ampoules géantes de la scène, mais ce soir j’accepte pour notre cause”, ajoute le père de famille, qui comme de nombreux albinos souffre de problèmes de vue.

“Nous sommes ici pour que ce qui est arrivé à Ramata ne se reproduise plus jamais, et cela doit être le combat de nous tous. Plus jamais ça à Fana, au Mali, en Afrique et dans le monde”, a lancé depuis la scène Ismaël Lô. “Personne ne doit sacrifier un albinos pour son pouvoir, personne ne doit vendre les cheveux ou les organes d’un albinos”, a exhorté Safi Diabaté. “Je suis Fana, je suis Ramata, je suis toutes les victimes des ignominies de certains assoiffés de pouvoir”, a ajouté le slameur malien Karim Diallo.

Alors que la soirée est déjà bien avancée, Salif Keïta monte sur scène pour un show de 45 minutes au cours duquel il défend son album “L’autre blanc”, son dernier selon lui, pour lequel il a fait appel à de vieux complices comme l’Ivoirien Alpha Blondy ou la Béninoise Angélique Kidjo, tout en multipliant les clins d’oeil à la jeune génération.

“Je voulais dire au revoir à tous mes fans, parce que si je vais peut-être encore faire de la musique par-ci par-là, je ne prendrai plus le temps de faire un album”, a-t-il confié à l’AFP, estimant avoir “droit à un repos” après 50 ans de carrière.

Source:
Au Mali, un concert événement de Salif Keïta rend hommage à une fillette albinos assassinée

Related article:

Mali: Salif Keïta rend hommage à une fillette albinos assassinée

Malian singer Salif Keïta performing at a live concert in Fana, Mali, on November 17, 2018. Le chanteur malien Salif Keita lors d’un concert de sensibilisation aux violences contre les albinos, le 17 novembre 2018 à Fana (Mali), où une fillette albinos âgée de 5 ans a récemment été assassinée.
© MICHELE CATTANI / AFP

Published: November 19, 2018 – 14:35 PM
By: Géopolis (avec AFP )

Saturday night, legendary Malian singer Salif Keïta gave a live concert, presenting his latest album, in Fana, a small town in the south of Mali, where a 5-year old girl with albinism was found dead – murdered – in May of this year. The live concert was in honor of all murdered albinos in Africa and in protest against these horrible crimes. (…)

A young Malian woman holds her albino baby at a concert given by famous Malien singer Salif Keïta. Une Malienne tient son bébé albinos alors qu’elle assiste au concert de Salif Keita visant à sensibiliser le public aux violences contre les albinos le 17 novembre 2018 à Fana. © MICHELE CATTANI / AFP

“We are here to prevent that what happened to Ramata will ever happen again. This is our common struggle. Never again in Fana, in Mali, in Africa, in the world.”, Ismaël Lô shouted on stage. “Nobody should sacrifice a person with albinism to become richer or stronger; nobody should sell the hair or organs of an albino”, Safi Diabaté cried. “I am Fana, I am Ramata, I am the victim of all these atrocities committed by power-hungry people”, Karim Diallo added.

Translated by the webmaster FVDK

«Nous sommes ici pour que ce qui est arrivé à Ramata ne se reproduise plus jamais, et cela doit être le combat de nous tous. Plus jamais ça à Fana, au Mali, en Afrique et dans le monde», a lancé depuis la scène Ismaël Lô. «Personne ne doit sacrifier un albinos pour son pouvoir, personne ne doit vendre les cheveux ou les organes d’un albinos», a exhorté Safi Diabaté. «Je suis Fana, je suis Ramata, je suis toutes les victimes des ignominies de certains assoiffés de pouvoir», a ajouté le slameur malien Karim Diallo.

Alors que la soirée est déjà bien avancée, Salif Keïta monte sur scène pour un show de 45 minutes au cours duquel il défend son album L’autre blanc,son dernier selon lui, pour lequel il a fait appel à de vieux complices comme l’Ivoirien Alpha Blondy ou la Béninoise Angélique Kidjo, tout en multipliant les clins d’œil à la jeune génération.

«Je voulais dire au revoir à tous mes fans, parce que si je vais peut-être encore faire de la musique par-ci par-là, je ne prendrai plus le temps de faire un album», a-t-il confié à l’AFP, estimant avoir «droit à un repos» après 50 ans de carrière.

A young woman with albinism dances at a live concert given by famous Malian singer Salif Keïta in Fana (Mali) where recently a 5-year old girl with albinism was murdered. Une jeune femme malienne albinos danse lors du concert du chanteur malien Salif Keita, le 17 novembre 2018 à Fana, où une fillette albinos âgée de 5 ans a récemment été assassinée. © MICHELE CATTANI / AFP

Source: Mali: Salif Keïta rend hommage à une fillette albinos assassinée

In Fana, Mali, a five-year old girl with albinism was murdered in May 2018.

Malawi: man found with human bones of albino ‘killed last year’

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It’s being estimated that between November 2014 and March 2017 at least 18 albinos have been murdered in Malawi. Since then, these atrocious ritualistic killings and attacks on people living with albinism have continued unabated – as has been demonstrated by the numerous cases reported and reproduced on this site. These ugly practices must stop, not only in Malawi but also in other sub-Saharan countries! (webmaster FVDK)

Malawian man found with human bones of albino ‘killed last year’ 

Published: March 18, 2017
By: News24Wire

Police in Malawi say investigations have revealed that human bones found with a man arrested in Lilongwe last week were those of a person with albinism, who died in Mchinji last year, a report says.

At least 18 albinos  have been killed across Malawi since November 2014.

According to Malawi 24, police spokesperson Kaitano Lubrino said that preliminary findings indicated that the recovered bones were those of an albino person Spiriano Felix who was buried on April 20 last year, but his grave was tampered and exhumed by unknown criminals on May 6.

Lubrino said that Felix’s lower legs and lower arms were found to had been chopped off from his corpse, thus, prompting the police to launch a manhunt.

The police spokesperson said that after the suspects were arrested last week, a forensic histopatholographic examined the bones to confirm the identity of the bones which had been found.

Amnesty International said last year that albinos in Malawi were being targeted in an “unprecedented wave of brutal attacks”. The rights group blamed police for failing to tackle a scourge fuelled by ritual practices.

At least 18 albinos – who have white skin because of a hereditary condition that causes an absence of pigmentation – have been killed across Malawi since November 2014, the group said at the time.

Source: Malawian man found with human bones of albino ‘killed last year’. Police

Why are albinos being murdered in South Africa?

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Fortunately, I am not the only one worried or angry about the mutilating and murdering of people living with albinism in sub-Saharan Africa. We have people like Anas Aremeyaw Anas, the famous Ghanaian undercover reporter, Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for Southern Africa, Overstone Kondowe, director of the Association of People with Albinism in Malawi, Richard Rooney in Swaziland, Kassim Kazungu, President of the organization Albinos without Borders in Burundi (‘Association Albinos sans Frontières de Burundi’) and – last but not least, the people running Under The Same Sun, an organization fighting for the rights of Persons with Albinism in Tanzania, headed by Peter Ash. And there is Tom Head.

I read his piece on ‘why albinos are being murdered in South Africa’ and immediately felt the need to share it with you, the reader of this blog on ritual killings in Africa. Tom Head is, according to his own writing, a 26-year old writer and English Teacher. ‘British by birth, South African by heart. His wife is definitely his better half. Known to follow rubbish sports teams. Writes mainly about current affairs, politics and sport.’ Unquote. Judge for yourself whether I took the right decision to include his article on this site. His article dates from the end of March, this year. Thanks Tom for your precious contribution!

A luta continua – the struggle continues!

Why are albinos being murdered in South Africa? 

TOPSHOT – An albino model wearing a creation waits to access a private lounge during the fashion show at the 2017 Durban July horse race in Durban, South Africa, on July 1, 2017.

Myth and superstition threaten the lives of one of society’s most marginalised groups.

Published: March 29, 2018
By: Tom Head

In 2018, it goes without saying that no-one should be fearful of their lives because of what skin colour they were born with. However, this is very much a reality for albinos in sub-Saharan Africa.

The UN state that people who live with albinism are treated “more like ghosts than humans”*, following years of ostracisation and a general lack of public understanding. Feeling marginalised by society is one thing. But being murdered because you’re different is a whole other, heartbreaking issue.

What causes albinism?

Albinism is hereditary. It doesn’t have to be passed on directly from an albino parent, but the mother or father must be a carrier of the gene for a child to inherit the condition.

When the human body fails to produce enough melanin, it affects the colourisation of the skin and its pigmentation. Around one in 20 000 people worldwide are albino.

Why are albinos murdered?

Their persecution is almost entirely based on myth and superstition. Witch doctors operating in southern Africa believe their body parts possess magical powers. Some think that possessing their limbs can ensure better health, and will bring good luck to the owner.

The idea is beyond ridiculous, but it is ultimately tragic. On the other side of the coin, some witch doctors also teach the idea that albinos are cursed. The crackpot theories range from the ideas that they are trapped spirits, to being the living souls of colonialist invaders.

Those living with albinism are also at risk of sexual assault and rape. The falsely-believed notion that having sex with an albino can cure HIV / AIDS is not a real scientific fact, but it is a real, terrifying threat.

Where is it most dangerous for albinos to live?

Malawi has reported “at least 18” murders of albino citizens since 2014. However, Tanzania is where the most murders occur, and that’s due to the sheer size of their albino population. It’s estimated around 7,000 people live with albinism in the country.

According to a UN report, nearly 80 albino Tanzanians have been killed since 2000. It’s reported that albino body parts can fetch “up to $75 000” on the black market.

Albinos killed in South Africa

Violence against albinos has never matched the same levels seen north of Mzansi. However, there have been some high profile cases in Mpumalanga this month that have forced South Africa to confront a horrifying reality.

A traditional healer who allegedly killed two children with albinism appeared in a Witbank court last month. Following that, the grave of an albino local was dug up in Pienaar near White River: His hands and right foot had been cut off.

Police in Mpumalanga have vowed to step up their attempts to protect the albino community. General Mondli Zuma stated this week that the “barbaric act” of dealing in body parts has to be stopped.

Misinformation and lies should never result in the death of a human being. But when they are systematically pedalled to target one specific community, something drastic has to change. Albinos can no longer be treated as ghosts, rather than people.

* – Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Source: Why are albinos being murdered in South Africa?

South Africa: ‘Fake sangoma murderers’ target albino body parts for rituals

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South Africa: ‘Fake sangoma murderers’ target albino body parts for rituals

Published: April 30, 2018
By: Cynthia Maseko

Albino body parts are used to make ‘muti’.

It is believed that the body parts of albinos are wanted by sangomas who make money out of them and use them for healing.

The murder of a 13-year-old albino girl and the stealing of body parts from a 28-year-old albino man just hours after he was buried has Mpumalanga residents angry and fearing for the lives of other albino people.

Hands and a foot chopped off

Fear has been spreading following the recent abduction and brutal killing of 13-year-old Gabisile Shabane, who had with albinism. And then body parts were removed from 28-year-old Xolane Mkhize from Msogwaba after he was buried.According to Mkhize’s family, the young man passed away on 3 March this year after months of battling with skin cancer. His hands and a foot were chopped off his body less than 24 hours after he was buried at the Tekwane North grave yard.

Phumzile Ndlovu, a community member in Msogwaba, said people were battling to make sense of the two events.

“We grew up believing that when it was time for person with albinism to die, he or she would go far up in the mountains and get between big rocks where no-one would ever find them and die there. But today we know fully that persons with albinism are buried at the public grave yards,” she said.

Albinism is an inherited genetic condition that reduces the amount of melanin pigment formed in the skin, hair and/or eyes. Most children with albinism are born to parents who have normal hair and eye colour for their ethnic backgrounds.

So-called sangomas

Sam Zitha, a worried father of Ndabezitha, said, “Even though my daughter may not fully understand, we no longer allow her to go anywhere without any supervision after hearing the news about the abduction and brutal killing of the 13-year-old girl who lived with albinism. As a father with a child living with albinism, it is my responsibility to always make sure she is always sheltered and protected from these rituals.”

Zitha believes that the body parts of albino people are wanted by people who make money out of them and use them for healing. He believes sangomas are the people who use the parts.

“People must be careful of these fly-by-night so-called sangomas (who buy the body parts) because your desperation will make you a murderer and put you in prison,” said Ntombifuthi Zitha who is Ndabezitha’s gogo.

“Now our brothers and sisters with albinism are living in constant fear because they are being brutally killed for ritual purposes. The disturbing issue is that some of these fake sangomas are living among us in society,” said Sam Zitha.

There have been no developments in either of the two cases. – Health-e News.

Source: ‘Fake sangoma murderers’ target albino body parts for rituals

Mpumalanga Province (former East Transvaal) in South Africa