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| Tanzania in witchdoctor crackdown | Tanzania in witchdoctor crackdown |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Tanzania's president has ordered a crackdown on witchdoctors who use body parts from albinos in magic potions to bring people good luck or fortune. | Tanzania's president has ordered a crackdown on witchdoctors who use body parts from albinos in magic potions to bring people good luck or fortune. |
| "This is senseless cruelty. It must stop forthwith," Jakaya Kikwete said on television, AFP news agency reports. | "This is senseless cruelty. It must stop forthwith," Jakaya Kikwete said on television, AFP news agency reports. |
| "I am told that people kill albinos and chop their body parts, including fingers, believing they can get rich when mining or fishing," he said. | "I am told that people kill albinos and chop their body parts, including fingers, believing they can get rich when mining or fishing," he said. |
| The order comes after the murder of 19 albinos in the last year. | The order comes after the murder of 19 albinos in the last year. |
| The BBC's Vicky Ntetema in Dar es Salaam says there is a widespread belief in Tanzania that the condition is the result of a curse put on the family. | The BBC's Vicky Ntetema in Dar es Salaam says there is a widespread belief in Tanzania that the condition is the result of a curse put on the family. |
| Old women with red eyes have been killed in parts of Tanzania, after being accused of witchcraft, she says. | Old women with red eyes have been killed in parts of Tanzania, after being accused of witchcraft, she says. |
| In the past, Tanzania's Albino Society (TAS) has accused the government of turning a blind eye to the killing of albinos. | |
| There are more than 8,000 registered albinos in Tanzania, although TAS believes there to be 150,000 among the country population of some 35m. |