Steph Deschamps / February 3, 2023
A five-year-old albino boy was killed by unidentified assailants and his body found without a head or legs on Wednesday in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
A five-year-old albino boy was killed by unidentified assailants and his body found without head or legs on Wednesday in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), presumably a victim of occult practices targeting albinos in some African countries, local sources said.
We condemn and deplore this new case of murder of a 5-year-old albino, who was abducted (Tuesday evening) by armed bandits for ulterior motives," Archimede Karhebwa, assistant administrator of the territory of Kalehe, in the province of South Kivu, where the murder was committed, told AFP on Thursday.
The child was found dead, without head or legs, in the bush the next morning," he added, assuring that "measures are being taken so that such a case is not repeated in Kalehe.
Since 2009, 18 albinos have been killed in such circumstances, 10 albino graves desecrated and there have been 22 attempts to abduct albinos in South Kivu," lamented the coordinator of Apia, the association of albino people in the province, Juvénal Lushule.
This recent case disgusts us and does not surprise us, because we have always been victims of these barbarities," continued Mr. Lushule, asking the authorities for protection and investigation.
In the DRC and other sub-Saharan African countries, albinos are targeted for attack. Their body parts are sold for witchcraft rituals meant to bring wealth and power.
Albinism is an inherited genetic condition that causes a complete lack of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes.