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Burundi albinos renew call for govt protection

Saturday January 29 2011
albinopix

Kazungu Kassim (right), the head of the Burundi Albino Association and members, listen to proceedings inside a court-room in Ruyigi, Eastern Burundi. File Picture

The slaying of two albinos last December in Burundi, has renewed calls for special protection, as the death toll resulting from arbitrary killings reaches 17 in two years.

According to Kassim Kazungu, the chairperson of a non-governmental organisation Albinos Without Borders, the situation is now out of control, while the government has turned a blind eye to the community’s pleas for protection.

The two albinos were killed late December, one in the southern province of Makamba bordering Tanzania and the other in Muramvya province, central Burundi.

“It seems the government has abandoned us given the rising death toll,” said Mr Kazungu.
He now wants the government to emulate Tanzania where those found guilty of killing albinos are sentenced to death, although this would be in violation of Burundi’s new criminal laws that outlaw capital punishment.

“We are asking the government to revisit the criminal code and sanction the death penalty in order to punish offenders,” said Mr Kazungu.  

Earlier this month, the chairman of the albino association told journalists it would help if the government provided sanctuaries for the albinos at the country’s  provincial centres with a view of ensuring the security of the entire albino community, estimated at over 600 people.

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The association also notes that most albinos are forced to leave their homes whenever a murder is reported. 

However, government spokesperson Philippe Nzobonariba said the government had done its best to stem the practice by prosecuting offenders.

“The security of albinos is the responsibility of the local administration who in collaboration with the community are working hard to stem the vice,” he said.

But according to Edouard Biha, the executive secretary of the human rights body Ligue Iteka, the government needs to show more commitment towards the protection of albinos.

“Even if it means employing more policemen to specifically serve the albino community, it should be done,” he said.  

Targeted murders of albino’s spilled into Burundi from Tanzania where witchdoctors believe albino body parts are the pathway to prosperity.

In a bid to stop the heinous acts, the provincial attorney of Ruyigi court Nicodème Gahimbare, in 2008, sentenced four of 10 suspects found guilty of killing albinos.

Two of them were sentenced to death, another to life imprisonment and one to seven year’s imprisonment.

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