The plea was made by the Albinism Society of South Africa’s KZN branch during a media briefing at Durban City Hall on Thursday. Chairman Maxwell Thabethe said despite the large number of albinos who have been hacked to death over the years, government had done little to ensure their safety.
“There need to be harsh laws in place so we can feel safe,” said Thabethe.
He said the organisation also wanted police to improve the way they investigated the kidnapping and killing of people living with albinism.
“There is little or no development in cases reported. We often feel that police are not doing enough to make sure those who kill us are prosecuted.”
Deputy secretary Zulmira Nhatave said her 14-year-old brother Sibusiso went missing in 2011. She said the way his case handled was a perfect example of police incompetence.
“He was immediately reported missing because we heard my brother was last seen talking to an unknown man who was wearing a black leather jacket.
“We still haven’t found his body and the police never told us how far they were with the investigation,” said Zulmira.
Attacks on albinos are driven by the belief that their body parts can be used to make strong muthi.
KZN police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said: “It’s not true that we are not doing enough. We work on such cases until we make arrests. Sometimes it takes a few weeks, as it did with Thandazile Mpunzi’s case, but sometimes it takes years.”
Source: Daily Sun
Wow.this is soo sad
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