Tanzania arrests more than 200 witchdoctors

The Tanzanian government has begun a crackdown on witchdoctors, after it placed a ban on their services in January. Last week alone, 32 withdoctors were detained, bringing the total number since the ban took effect to 225 arrests, according to AFP news.

“Some of those arrested were found in possession of items like lizard skin, warthog teeth, ostrich eggs, monkey tails, bird claws, mule tails and lion skin,” police spokesperson Advera Bulimba told the AFP.

Witchdoctors in Tanzania believe that the body parts of albinos can confer wealth and good luck, and people are prepared to pay as much as $75,000 for a complete set of body parts, according to the Red Cross.

Just a few weeks ago in the north-west of the country, a one-year-old albino boy was killed.

One in 1,400 Tanzanians are albinos, whereas the number in Western countries is about one in 20,000. This, according to some researchers, is as a result of inbreeding.

The United Nations estimates that since 2000, as many as 80 albino Tanzanians have been murdered, a situation which the country’s president Jakaya Kikwete has described as an “evil” that has shamed Tanzania.

Source: BBC