A string of attacks on albino people in Tanzania has prompted officials in the east African country to ban witchdoctors, the BBC reported.
At least 70 people with albinism, a genetic disorder characterized by little to no skin pigmentation, have been killed in the last three years. They are reportedly attacked, kidnapped and killed for their body parts, which are sought by witchdoctors who believe they bring good fortune and wealth, the BBC reported.
Home Affairs officials announced a crackdown, including arrests and prosecutions, on witchdoctors, who are rarely if ever brought to justice. Out of the 70 albinos killed, only 10 people have been convicted for murder.
The Tanzanian Albinism Society is also working on a joint task force with police to revisit past attacks and abductions, including a 4-year-old albino girl who was kidnapped in December and remains missing.
"If we and the government come together and show strength as one and speak as one, we can deal with the problem head-on," TAS Chairman Ernest Njamakimaya told the BBC. "I believe this way we can get rid of these incidents once and for all."
There are an estimated 33,000 albino people in Tanzania, where most of the population believes in witchcraft, according to The Guardian. Albino body parts go for $600 while entire corpses go for $75,000.
Law enforcement will begin prosecuting witchdoctors in the northern cities of Shinyanga, Geita, Mwanza among others in two weeks.
Though it is a step in the right direction, banning witchdoctors only solves half the problem because the trade doesn't end with them, according to TAS Secretary-General Ziziyada Nsembo.
"We haven't seen where these hands, legs and skin are taken. This is the big question," Nsembo said according to The Guardian.
"If witchdoctors will tell us that they are taken to somebody, and what purpose they are used for, we will be in a better position. Through the witchdoctors we can reach the real culprits."
