Times Of Swaziland: MAN WITH ALBINISM ATTACKED BY MOB

MAN WITH ALBINISM ATTACKED BY MOB
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Melisa Msweli on 25/03/2019 09:14:00


MBABANE – A 46-year-old man with albinism fears for his life after going
through what looked like a kidnapping.
This, after an incident that happened last Sunday at Luve were the man was
attacked by a group of men, who he believed were hit men sent to kill him.
Narrating his story, he stated that this happened at his homestead where the
group of men came to his home to attack him.  He said he was sitting at home
when the group of men came into his house and grabbed a phone from his hand
while he was on the phone.  He continued to state how they grabbed him and
forced him to go to the road where a car was parked. While being dragged into
the car, he said he was called by all sorts of insulting words which cannot be
repeated and even threatened that it was his last day on earth.
Pack
“Bebatsi batangipakishela bangiyise eTanzania” loosely translated ‘They
said they were going to pack my stuff and take me to Tanzania’. Tanzania has
been recently reported to have 65 witch doctors arrested for ritual killings of
10 children living with albinism. The children were killed in January and their
body parts were removed.  This is said to be the believe among some people in
Tanzania and neighbouring countries, that using human body parts of people with
albinism for  rituals could bring wealth and good luck. The survivor stated that
when they got to the car, he was forced inside but he tried to fight back. He
said he was saved by the arrival of some members of the public. Upon seeing the
people, he said the hit men changed the story and accused him of stealing car
batteries of one well-known man of that area. He told this publication that what
shocked him was how he would be accused of stealing at night especially because
he had an eye problem. He claimed to be partially visually impaired and could
not see a thing at night.
Saved
He continued to state how he was saved from the men and went to the police
station the following day to report the matter. He said his biggest fear was
that the people could return and finish off what they started. He said he was
living to see the day when the businessman got his batteries or the thief so
that he could question him about his involvement in the attempted kidnapping.