Four men, including a witchdoctor have been handed death sentences by
Tanzania's High Court after being found guilty of abducting, killing and
dismembering a 17-year-old albino boy.
A fifth defendant was released due to insufficient evidence.
Court heard testimony that the killers planned to sell the victim's
organs for use in witchcraft.
The witchdoctor, Adangalwisye Kayuni, was found with human intestines
whose DNA matched that of the dead teenager. Another defendant was found in
possession of four fingers and 10 bones, which DNA tests proved were also those
of the victim.
The boy, Henry Mwakajila, went missing in the southern city of Mbeya
in 2008, according to the prosecution.
The court has sentenced 15 people to death for killing albinos since
2008 and the United Nations says at least 75 people with albinism - a lack of
pigment in the skin, hair and eyes - have been killed in Tanzania since 2000.
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| Tanzanian albinos (seen above) are often murdered for witchcraft beliefs |
The killers often hack their victims to death and sell their body
party to witchdoctors who use them in spells to bring good luck and wealth.
A report by the Red Cross says witchdoctors pay as much as $75,000 for
a full set of albino body parts.
Albinism is a congenital disorder which affects about one in 20,000
people worldwide and an estimated one Tanzanian in 1,400.