VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDR #0029/01 0201209
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD1F512A AMG3601-695)
R 201209Z JAN 09 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8179
INFO RUEHJB/AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA 2761
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 1103
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3277
RUEHLGB/AMEMBASSY KIGALI 1205
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0287
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0476
RUEHDS/USMISSION USAU ADDIS ABABA

UNCLAS DAR ES SALAAM 000029 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E JLIDDLE; AF/PD; IO/SHA; IO/RHS; DRL 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SCUL KPAO TZ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR HONORS COURAGEOUS TANZANIAN ALBINOS AFTER 
GRUESOME YEAR OF MURDERS 
 
¶1.  (U)  SUMMARY:  Following a year in which several dozen albinos 
were reported murdered throughout Tanzania, Ambassador Mark Green 
awarded the entire albinism community with Post's "Martin Luther 
King Jr. Drum Major for Justice Award."  The award, presented 
annually the last ten years commemorating the life of Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr., recognizes Tanzanians who have waged a peaceful 
battle for justice in the spirit of Dr. King.  The event was the 
lead story January 15 on all major television and nine top radio 
stations, and was carried prominently in at least ten English and 
Swahili dailies the following day.  After the event, government 
leaders pledged continued action in raising awareness of the issue. 
A group from a U.S. university committed funds to support Albino 
groups.  We are  encouraging submission of relevant proposals to our 
Democracy and Human Rights Fund.  Activists intend to present the 
issue of Tanzanian albino murders, especially the lack of 
prosecutions for these crimes, to the UN Office of the High 
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in New York on February 5. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
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Traditional Healers' Claims of Riches Threatens Albinos 
---------- 
 
¶2.  (U)  Although there were unofficial reports of several dozens of 
persons with albinism murdered across the country during 2008, 
26--mostly women and children--were confirmed killed, and numerous 
others were mutilated, in the misguided belief that the body parts 
of albinos could be used to create wealth or bring protection and 
good luck in business or love.  Many murders occurred in the Great 
Lakes Zone of Northern Tanzania.  While the practice is reportedly 
associated with the spells of witchdoctors or traditional healers, 
many believe that the practice is a modern development rather than a 
traditional belief.  Some Tanzanians believe that albinos are not 
humans and refer to them as "zeru zeru," a derogatory Kiswahili word 
for ghosts.  Others believe that albinos cannot be killed but simply 
'disappear.'  Fishermen, especially around Lake Victoria, have been 
reported to tie strands of albinos' hair to their fishing nets to 
ensure a plentiful catch.  Thieves have stolen albino remains from 
graves to create talismans. 
 
¶3. (U) When entire bodies cannot be obtained, attackers have hacked 
off albinos' arms and/or legs, often resulting in the victims' 
death.  Because of the stigma associated with albinism, albinos are 
poorer than average in one of the already poorest countries in the 
world.  With limited financial means to purchase sun block, 
Tanzanians with albinism suffer high rates of melanoma.  Because of 
associated vision problems, as well as stigmatization and fear, many 
albinos do not finish high school and are illiterate.  There are 
more than 8,000 registered albinos in Tanzania, but the Tanzania 
Albino Society estimates there are between 100,000 and 200,000 
albinos in the country.  In response to the dramatic upswing in the 
murder of albinos, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete appointed 
albino Al Shaymaa Kwegyir as a 'Special Seats' Member of Parliament 
in April 2008 to focus on disabled citizens.  In recent months, the 
trade in albino body parts has reportedly spread to Burundi and the 
DRC: a Tanzanian was arrested in November reportedly trying to sell 
his albino wife to Congolese traders for $3000.  There have been 
arrests, but so far no convictions in these murders. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Brave Journalist Goes Undercover to Expose the Deadly Trade 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In July 2008, Tanzanian BBC World Service Bureau Chief 
Vicky Ntetema went undercover, with police consent, posing as a 
businesswoman looking to buy charmed potions from ten different 
witchdoctors.  Ntetema told PDO, and reported through BBC, that she 
was offered potions made from albino organs for a starting price of 
$2000 from several witchdoctors.  Ntetema exposed the offers, as 
well as subsequent police inaction to make arrests, through reports 
on BBC.  Ntetema disclosed to PDO that the Minister of Home Affairs 
Lawrence Masha berated her publicly for "bringing shame on Tanzania" 
through her international reports.  (Note: Masha, a close friend of 
the embassy, declined our invitation to attend the MLK event. End 
Note.) Ntetema temporarily has relocated to Nairobi, as she has been 
told that she is now  "overqualified" to work as a journalist in 
Tanzania.  After the increase in murders in 2008, the Tanzania 
Albino Society and other NGOs have organized marches, fielded an 
albino soccer team that played against MPs, and garnered 
considerable media coverage for the cause. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Ambassador calls for action during moving ceremony 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (U)  The MLK Drum Major for Justice Award ceremony, held annually 
since 1999, honors prominent Tanzanian leaders involved in advancing 
social justice.  In his remarks, the Ambassador called on Tanzanian 
law enforcement to arrest and prosecute those responsible for the 
murders of albinos, stating, "As a friend of Tanzania, I will not 
allow the United States to remain silent in the face of a grave 
abuse of human rights occurring in Tanzania today."  Ambassador drew 
parallels between the peaceful marches of the Civil Rights Movement 
and the peaceful marches for justice being organized by the Albino 
Society. 
 
¶6.  (U)  Margareth Sitta, Minister of Community Development, Gender, 
and Children, who attended the ceremony, spoke to the media 
assembled praising the U.S. Government for its efforts to help in 
this important fight, and announced the creation of a task force on 
the issue.  Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Anna Makinda, also 
attended the event.  Media mogul Reginald Mengi, a dedicated 
champion for disabled Tanzanians and the 2008 MLK award recipient, 
helped hand over the award.  Special MP Kwegyir, who spoke at the 
event, applauded U.S. efforts to make the issue known throughout the 
world.  Representatives of the Tanzania Albino Society Ernest Kimaya 
and Josephat Torner, and Ntetema from BBC spoke and read excerpts of 
Dr. King's speeches during the ceremony.  A local gospel choir 
brought several albinos in the audience to tears with a song 
dedicated to ending the murders of albinos, emotion which was 
captured in numerous media photo essays. 
 
-------------- 
Significant Media Coverage 
-------------- 
 
¶7.  (U)  Coverage of the ceremony was carried at the top of all 
national television news reports the evening of January 15. 
Detailed stories and photos were carried prominently in January 16th 
editions of Kiswahili dailies Habari Leo, Uhuru, Kulikoni, and 
Nipashe and in English dailies The Guardian, This Day, The African, 
Daily News and The Citizen.  Additionally, television stations ITV, 
TBC and TBC1, and radio stations Radio Free Africa/StarTV, Clouds 
FM, Radio One, East Africa Radio, and Islamic stations Radio Koran, 
and Radio Kheri carried the story in their morning "newspaper 
review" programs.  Coverage was factual and positive, quoting the 
Ambassador's remarks at length, and included extensive positive 
comments from VIPs who attended the ceremony. 
 
---------- 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
¶8.  (U)  We have received a proposal to support a sensitization 
campaign in northwestern Tanzania, and is seeking additional 
proposals for our Democracy and Human Rights Fund grants program.  A 
timely visit from a service learning-study tour of students from the 
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has resulted in their commitment 
of a monetary donation to support the albinism community.  BBC 
journalist Ntetema, along with the head of Canadian NGO "Under the 
Same Sun," intends to present an overview of albino murders in 
Tanzania supported by the results from an October 2008 fact-finding 
mission to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 
(OHCHR) in New York on February 5. 
 
Green