CrimeFeaturedHighlight

Attacks Against Albinos for Body Parts, Profit Must Stop, Says UN

525

“When I was sleeping in my house, four people came and started attacking me with machetes,” said Mariama Staford, an albino in Tanzania. “One of those four people was a neighbor, and he is the one who took the machete and was cutting my arms.”

Staford was 25 years old when she was attacked in 2008. She told VOA that her neighbor first cut off her right arm and threw it to his accomplices. Then, “he chopped off my left arm.”

“I tried my best to struggle in order to defend myself,” she said, “but it was not successful and so they pulled me down in front of my son, who at that time was only two years old.”

She said it took seven hours before villagers carried her on a stretcher to a dispensary.

“When I reached there, the doctor who was on duty said that I should be returned home because I was already dead,” Staford said.  Two years ago, in an effort to counter such attacks, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights appointed Ikponwosa Ero as the first U.N. independent expert on human rights of persons with albinism.

Ero, a Nigerian born, also has albinism — an inherited condition that affects the pigment of the skin and hair. She said attacks, mutilation and murders occur because of the false belief that albino body parts can bring wealth and good luck.

Bro said athat she has documented close to 800 cases of attacks against albinos in the past decade in sub-Saharan Africa, where such witchcraft-related violence is most common.

“Those are reported cases alone. Most cases are not reported because most cases involve family members or people known to the victim,” Ero said.

She said the practice thrives because there is a lot of money to be made.

“The Red Cross reported that the body parts were valued on the black market. Like an arm was valued at $2,000, and a complete corpse at about $75,000. So, there are profits to be made even though you do not believe in witchcraft,” she said.

Though it is the witch doctors who drive this trade, they rarely are brought to justice. Ero said there were very few witch doctors among the prisoners she met during two visits last year to Malawi and Mozambique to assess the situation of people with albinism.

“Societies are afraid of them,” Ero said. “The police are afraid of them. So, those are usually not prosecuted.

“And then the people on the high scale who are going to pay the money are usually not in jail because they are the elite. Who you find in jail are poor farmers, poor peddlers who are offered a lot of money.”

Staford’s story

No one has paid for the crime committed against Mariama Staford.

“My case reached the trials, and the neighbor that I knew for 10 years was released,” she said. “The court said that because I have albinism, I have low vision, so I could not have recognized my neighbor chopping off my arms.”

Staford has suffered other repercussions, as well. When the attack occurred, she was six months pregnant. She lost her baby.

She told VOA she also must live with the suffering of her son who, as a two-year-old child, was forced to witness the horrific attack against his mother.

“It saddens me to know that, as a mother, I was unable to take care of him, just like a mother would do — even embrace him after the attack,” Staford said. “But also, he is a sad person and he always remembers what happened.”

Staford said there should be stringent laws against any person who attacks people with albinism. She also would like to see the government take away licenses to practice from witch doctors.

Staford and her son, who does not have albinism, as well as two siblings — who do have the condition — are living in protective custody in a safe house in Tanzania run by a branch of a Canadian-U.S. charitable organization called Under the Same Sun.

Leave a comment

Related Articles

Tragedy Strikes Covenant University: Student Hit by Lightning During Football Match

Mordi Nwense Daniel, an engineering student at Covenant University (CU), Ota, Ogun...

Lagos Council Boss Dies

Mr. Musibau Asafa, the Executive Chairman of Oto-Awori Local Council Development Area,...

Four Filipinos, Eight Nigerians Jailed for Cybercrime Offences

In a landmark judgment, a Federal High Court in Lagos today convicted...

SunTrust Bank MD, ED Arraigned for Alleged $12m Fraud

Halima Buba, Managing Director/CEO, and Innocent Mbagwu, Executive Director/Chief Compliance Officer of...

Air Peace, Oshiomhole Row: Keyamo Orders Investigation

Following a recent confrontation at Lagos Airport, Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo has...

Tinubu Hails ‘Uncle Sam’ on 90th Birthday, Calls Him Eminent Statesman, Journalism Icon

President Bola Tinubu has sent a heartfelt message to the publisher of...

Presidency corrects errors in Democracy Day honours list

The Presidency has corrected an error in the list of national honours...

London-bound Air India Flight Crash Claims 200 Lives, Briton Survives

A London-bound Air India passenger plane with more than 200 people on...

Senate Introduces 844 Bills in Two Years, Akpabio Reports on Democracy Day

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, announced on Thursday that the...

Full text of Pres. Tinubu’s address at joint National Assembly session on Democracy Day

ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR AT THE JOINT SESSION OF...

Democracy day: Protests hit Abuja, Lagos amid heavy security

As Nigeria observes Democracy Day today, demonstrators have taken to the streets...

NNPC Ltd Demonstrates Transparency in its April 2025 Monthly Report

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has released its April 2025...

Just in: Air India flight AI171with 242 passengers on board crashes

A London-bound Air India flight with 242 passengers on board crashed shortly...

Fela’s Iconic “Zombie” Album inducted into 2025 Grammy Hall of Fame

Nearly three decades after his passing, Nigeria’s Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti...

SEC Warns Nigerians: CBEX Remains Banned, Avoid Doing Business with It

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reiterated that CBEX (Crypto Bridge...

Ogun market woman’s fatal stabbing over levy: Suspects nabbed, remanded in prison – Police

Police in Ogun State have announced the arrest and arraignment of several...

Wike’s APC Switch Invitation: Tinubu Says Party’s Door is Open

President Bola Tinubu said on Wednesday that while the Federal Capital Territory...

Just in: 2027: Coalition to remove Tinubu bound to fail, says Wike

The planned coalition to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027 is bound...

Investing in Infrastructure Critical to Nigeria’s Economic Growth – Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu said on Wednesday that his administration’s guiding philosophy is...

Just in: Rivers 2025 budget provides for Gov. Fubara’s return – Administrator Ibas

As Nigerians continue to call for the return of the suspended Rivers...