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The murder of albino people once again hit Tete province on Wednesday’ with the killing of a 17-year-old boy in Benga, Moatize district, by individuals still at large. The outrage was carried out to secure parts of the boy’s body, including hair and brain.
The incident was revealed to AIM yesterday by a community leader who lives in the area where the macabre crime took place, and who asked for anonymity for fear of reprisals.
“It was strange. The young man, called Chinguirai Joao, was kidnapped during day and killed in the evening when his parents were looking for him because he was late coming home,” he explained.
“It happened in Nhambaluwalu village, here in Benga. The body was found after a search, but missing some parts. The criminals removed the bones of the arms and legs, the hair, and cracked the boy’s skulls to remove his brain. This crime has got us all worried,” he said.
The community leader said that the population of the village demanded the capture of the criminals and that they be punished severely to prevent further occurrences.
Police spokeswoman for Tete, Lurdes Ferreira, told AIM that “this case has not yet been reported by the police because has not been reported by the police station that covers that area”.
“Nevertheless, we will start investigations in the area where the crime occurred to establish in what circumstances the young man was kidnapped and later murdered, and launch a search to capture those responsible for this macabre crime,” Ferreira said.
Several instances of the abduction and murder of albinos were reported in Tete province last year, creating panic among the residents. Four months ago, there was after a failed attempt, by the parents themselves, to sell an albino child in Moatize.
Killings, illegal exhumations and attacks on albinos in sub-Saharan Africa represent a serious problem. The crimes are linked to beliefs that potions prepared with albino body parts bring good luck and wealth.
Chinguirai João’s murder comes at a time when the sentencing in May of this year of a group of eight defendants involved in the trafficking of albino body parts, including two public servants, a policewoman and the permanent secretary of the Tete provincial government, is still fresh in the public memory.
Policewoman Odente Luís was sentenced to 16 years in prison, as were Ana Cristina, Ajussa Cassimo and Luísa Amélia. Co-defendants ngelo Chico and Jacob Simbe got 12 years in jail, and Eusébio Chapar and Martinho Gouveia eight.
These sentences however failed to curb the hunting of albinos, with kidnappings known to have occurred in Changara, Cahora Bassa, Tsangano, Doa and Angónia.
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