- Ritual murder of albinos back again!
(In French)
Summary in English:
After one year of no murders, a 15-year old albino girl named
Chantal has been found murdered in the Kabezi community, south of
the capital Bujumbura, on May 6. Her death and mutilation brings the
total number of reported cases since 2008 to over 20.
(.....)
According to the president of the organization 'Albinos without
borders' (Albinos sans Frontières') the killers slit the girl's
throat and dismembered her. A neighbor, Kassim Kazungu, affirms that
Chantal is the 18th person murdered for ritual purposes in the
community since 2008. The government of Burundi is blamed for doing
nothing to protect its citizens and for being too passive after the
escape from prison of a number of convicted ritual killers.
(....)
May 7, 2012
- Ritual murder of albino
A 8-year old boy has been found dead and mutilated in the
province of Ruyigi, near Tanzania. This brings the total to eight
murdered albinos and one still missing in the past four months.
(....)
Last May a 28-year old mother together with her 4-year old son were
killed and mutilated for ritual purposes in the community of
Cendajuru, also near the Tanzanian border.
(...)
Since September 2008 14 albinos have been murdered in Burundi.
(...)
Article is in French.
October 4, 2010
- Jail over Burundi albino murders
One person has been sentenced to life in prison and eight others to
jail over the murder of albinos whose remains were sold for
witchcraft. Three other suspects were acquitted by the court in
Ruyigi province over the the killings of at least 12 albinos.
(...)
In addition to the killing of albinos in Burundi, more than 40 have
been killed in Tanzania.
(...)
The trial is believed to be the first linked to a spate of albino
killings in East Africa since 2007.
(...)
July 23, 2009
- Regional parliament decries albino killings
The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) has decried the killing
of albinos in the region and urged "tougher measures" to stop the
ritual murders and protect albinos. (...) At the ongoing meeting of
the regional parliament in Bujumbura, Burundi, MPs from the five EAC
member states called for regional cooperation to protect albinos
victimised by superstitious fortune seekers.
(...)
The killings are rampant in some parts of Burundi, Kenya and
Tanzania.
(...)
The legislators said while "considerable progress" had been made on
human rights issues in the EA region, the current killings and
hostility portrayed towards the albino community showed there was
still a long way to go in achieving the full respect for human
rights.
May 30, 2009
- Burundian albino murders denied
The trial has begun in Burundi of 11 defendants accused of
attacking and killing 12 albino people.
(...)
It is thought to be the first trial linked to the recent spate of
albino killings in East Africa, which has claimed more than 50
lives.
(...)
Police believe albino body parts are smuggled out of Burundi and
sold in Tanzania, to be used in witchcraft. (...) In addition to the
killing of albinos in Burundi, more than 40 albinos have been killed
in Tanzania.
May 19, 2009
Burundi albinos murder trial opens
The trial of 11 people accused of the ritual
killing of 12 albino people opened on
Tuesday in Ruyigi, some 200 kilometers east
of Bujumbura.
The killings were carried out over a
six-month period from September 2008 mainly
in the Ruyigi province.
(...)
A ruling is expected by Wednesday, the
prosecutor said.
(...)
May 19, 2009
- Progress in the 'Albino cases'
This report refers to the item reported below, see under 3).
Burundi: Des progrès dans les "affaires d'albinos"
Huit personnes trouvées à leurs domiciles en possession
d'ossements humains censés provenir d'albinos assassinés ont été
arrêtés dans la province de Ruyigi, dans l'est du Burundi. Selon le
parquet local, les personnes interpellées ont été dénoncées par deux
autres suspects arrêtés ayant avoué avoir assassiné deux albinos.
Deux pays d'Afrique des Grands Lacs notamment - le Burundi et la
Tanzanie voisine - connaissent ces derniers mois une vague de
meurtres rituels d'albinos alimentée par un commerce macabre. Les
organes d'individus souffrant d'albinisme - absence de pigments
colorants de la peau - sont très recherchés des sorciers et autres
fétichistes parce qu'ils sont censés porter chance en amour et en
affaires notamment.
March 15, 2009
- Burundi arrests eight for albino killings
Bujumbura (Reuters) - Burundi has arrested eight people found with
human bones suspected of belonging to albinos (...), said Nicodeme
Gahimbare, a public prosecutor in the eastern Ruyigi province.
"The eight were denounced by two other detained people who have
already confessed to killing two albinos," Gahimbare said.
(...)
Since last year, 11 albinos have been killed in Burundi.
March 15, 2009
- Albino boy killed
Un garcon albinos tué
This article is only available in French. It is preceeded by a
short abridged version in English.
Bujumbura (AFP) - Another albino boy was murdered, this time in
the Muruta community, in Kayanza Province (about 90 km north of the
capital Bujumbura. "The people of the region found the body of a boy
of eight or ten years old who was killed and whose legs and arms had
been cut off. (....)". On February 24, a six-year-old boy had been
murdered and dismembered in the same Kayanza Province.
The recent killing brings the total number of ritual murders of
albinos to nine in the past five moths.
(...)
March 9, 2009
Below the original French version:
Burundi: un garcon albinos tué
Bujumbura (AFP) — Un garçon albinos a été tué et mutilé dans le nord
du Burundi, dernier cas d'une série de meurtres rituels visant les
albinos dans ce pays et en Tanzanie voisine, a-t-on appris lundi de
source administrative. Ce nouveau meurtre a eu lieu dans la commune
de Muruta, dans la province de Kayanza (environ 90 km au nord de la
capitale Bujumbura).
"La population a découvert hier (dimanche) le corps d'un garçon
albinos de huit à dix ans, qui a été tué et dont les bras et les
jambes ont été coupés", a rapporté à l'AFP Geneviève Ntawiha,
administrateur de la commune de Muruta.
March 9, 2009
- Six-year-old albino boy slaughtered
Last week, in neighbouring Burundi, assailants reportedly
dismembered a six-year-old albino boy in his home in front of his
parents, the eighth albino killing in that country.
March 2, 2009
- Au Burundi, la traque des albinos
The hunt for albinos in Burundi
This article is only available in French.
It relates of the plight of the albinos in Burundi where since
September 2008 five albinos have been murdered for ritual purposes.
Nicodème Gahimbare, in Ruyigi, in the east of the country, tells how
seven bandits invaded the house, and while three of them threatened
the family with their AK-47, four bandits dismembered the albinos of
the family - alive - in a horrific scene. They started with the
arms, then the legs, and finally the head.
"Dans la région des Grands Lacs, on les appelle « les enfants du
soleil » : ils portent chance. Leurs corps sont recherchés par les
sorciers. Cinq meurtres ont été commis depuis septembre, dans
d'effroyables conditions. Cette nuit-là, les machettes étaient
aiguisées. « Sept bandits ont fait irruption dans la maison, raconte
Nicodème Gahimbare, procureur de Ruyigi, province située à l'est du
Burundi. Trois ont menacé la famille avec des kalachnikovs, pendant
que les quatre autres découpaient l'albinos, qui était toujours
vivant. Ils ont commencé par les bras puis ont tranché les jambes et
enfin la tête. L'un d'entre eux recueillait le sang dans un bidon...
puis, ils sont repartis en laisant dans la pièce ce qui restait du
corps...
Depuis septembre, les albinos du Burundi sont victimes d'une traque
effroyable, sordide et insensée. Cinq meurtres, plus abominables les
uns que les autres, ont déjà été commis. Hommes ou femmes, garcons
ou fillettes, les albinos sont devenus bien malgré eux les cibles
d'une marché fort lucratif."
Accédez à l'intrégralité de cet article sur Lemonde.fr
http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2008/12/22/au-burundi-la-traque-des-albinos_1134082_3212.html
This link leads to the entire article (in French).
December 22, 2008
- 6-Year-Old Albino Girl Killed for Body Parts
(...)
In Ruyigi province, Burundi, a 6-year-old girl, named Cizanye, was
murdered in front of her family because she was an albino. A gang of
armed bandits broke into the family home; they tied up the girl’s
parents and shot the little girl in the head. They then cut off her
head and both her arms and legs and left with the body parts. The
attack took place at the family’s home in Bugongo, more than 200
kilometers (125 miles) east of the capital Bujumbura. Police said
they suspected criminals of hunting albinos to sell their organs and
limbs to witch doctors in Tanzania who use them for lucky charms.
“This little girl is the third albino victim of such barbaric crimes
in our province since September. We are doing everything we can to
find the killers,” Ruyigi province prosecutor Nicodeme Gahimbare
said.
(...)
In the meantime, officials in eastern Burundi said that 24 albinos
have fled their villages and gone into towns for fear of slaughter.
Msembo said many albino children were dropping out of school for
fear of being kidnapped. Many albinos have sought refuge in urban
centers, which are relatively safer. She said “They are cutting us
up like chickens” while pointing to a picture on a wall in her
cramped office of a limbless body with the skin on its face peeled
off from an incident in 2007.
November 19, 2008
- A six-year-old albino girl in Burundi has been found dead with
her head and limbs removed, in the latest killing linked to ritual
medicine. The girl (...) was the sixth person with albinism to be
killed in Burundi since September.
November 17, 2008
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