UN condemns ritual killings of Tanzanian albino children for body parts

Local media reports that at least 10 children aged between 2 and 10 years old have been found dead this month

By AFP 31 January 2019, 6:10 am

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Illustrative: Kabula Nkarango Masanja waits during a prosthetic limb fitting, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, at Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. Kabula and four other children from Tanzania with the hereditary condition of albinism are in the U.S. to receive free surgery and prostheses at the hospital. The children were attacked and dismembered in the belief that their body parts will bring wealth. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

NAIROBI, Kenya — The United Nations on Tuesday condemned a wave of murders of young children in southern Tanzania, which local media reported were ritual killings in which body parts were removed.

The private newspaper Mwananchi reported that at least 10 children aged between two and 10 years old, mostly albino, had been found dead since the beginning of the month in the southern Njombe region.

In Tanzania, albinos are often kidnapped and their body parts hacked off for use as charms and magical potions in the belief that they bring wealth and good luck.

“The United Nations in Tanzania offers its deepest condolences to the families and communities of children who have been brutally murdered in Njombe over the last few weeks,” read a statement.

“As the UN, we stand ready to support the government in their efforts to address the issue,” said Alvaro Rodriguez, the UN’s resident coordinator in Tanzania.