PLOT TO KIDNAP 3 PERSONS WITH ALBINISM AMID ELECTIONS

MBABANE - Beliefs around the harvesting of body parts of people with albinism for good luck is still rife.

This is because the organisation of persons with albinism recorded three cases of attempted kidnappings since the beginning of the ongoing general elections in the country. This was disclosed by the President of the Persons with Albinism organisation in the country, Philemon Gama, in an interview yesterday.

Eswatini has been one of the African countries where a belief that human body parts, in particular those of persons with albinism, could help people win elections, has been a concern. The concern has resulted in authorities and other sectors of society in the African continent joining hands in warning people against the unfounded belief. However, apart from navigating the threats that come with such a belief, it was found that albinism does not affect an individual’s social development.  

Condition

It is a health condition that does not get worse or aggravated over time and does not exhibit any changes to life expectancy. In the case of the organisation, which falls under the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office in the country, Gama said they had since recommended to social workers that their affected members be relocated to places of safety.

By places of safety, Gama said he meant that their members be relocated to other relatives, where they would be out of danger. “As you know that our organisation falls under the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, we recommended to the social workers that families of the affected members be engaged so that our members could be relocated to other relatives,” he said.

Gama stated that even though the organisation did not have tangible evidence linking the kidnappings to the ongoing elections, they could not turn a blind eye to the fact that some people still had the notion that body parts of people with albinism could help them win the elections. He said the belief was not only in Eswatini, but in other African countries, which were also in the elections process.

Gama stated that the organisation was of the idea that their affected members would remain in hiding until the end of the ongoing general elections. This, Gama said, was likely to deprive their members their constitutional right to participate in the formation of the new government.

Worth noting is that when dissolving the 11th Parliament, His Majesty King Mswati III came out clear and warned the nation against the belief that human body parts could help anyone win elections. The King warned that there should be no strange disappearances of people during the course of the general elections.

He emphasised on the elderly and children, stating that they should not disappear during the course of the elections.
The warning from the King was spread across the country by some chiefs, bantfwabenkhosi and governors during community meetings and church services.

Also, Chairperson of the Witchdoctors Association, Makhanya Makhanya, stated that ritual killings were not in any way linked to ancestral calling. Makhanya said ritual killings remained criminal as it could not help anyone win the elections. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said police had no records of attempted kidnappings yet.

Also, the Principal Secretary in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office, Melusi Masuku, said they had not received an official report at the office. However, Masuku stated that it might happen that the cases were dealt with by the social workers in the areas where they occurred.

Reports

“We meet head of departments every week for reports. I do not know how the cases were not reported. We also have principal social workers deployed in the regions, maybe they dealt with the cases without reporting to the headquarters,” Masuku said. When reengaged and asked what happened in each case, Gama stated that one of the cases happened at a certain school around the Shiselweni Region and was reported to the police and social workers. He stated that the head teacher played a crucial role in exposing the would-be kidnappers.

“The matter is being handled by Hlatikhulu social workers and the police because it happened in the Shiselweni Region. Investigations are still ongoing,” he said. He stated that with regard to the two cases, the organisation recommended to the social workers the relocation of their members without reporting to the police. He said at times, they recommended to the social workers because they considered safety first before reporting to the police.

Gama stated that the cases were sometimes treated with confidentiality for the protection of their members.  Eswatini has embarked on the 2023 General Elections for the election of Members of Parliament (MPs), tindvuna tetinkhundla and bucopho. It is from the elected MPs that the King will appoint Cabinet ministers to run the Executive arm of government.

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