How did we get here? Reflections on the UDHR and South Africans with albinism

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Date: 11 September 2019
• Published date: 11 September 2019
• Citation: (2019) 32 SACJ 181
• Pages: 181-201
• Author: Bright Nkrumah

How did we get here? Reections

on the UDHR and South Africans

with albinism

BRIGHT NKRUMAH*

ABSTRACT

In recent times, South A frica continues to witness p ersecution and targeted

attacks on persons l iving with albinism. A lthough this group is protec ted

under (inter)national laws, they continue to be the ma in casualties of

ritual kil lings. The year 2018 marked the 70th an niversary of the Universa l

Declaration of Human R ights (UDHR). This instrument sets out overa rching

provisions for the protection of women, chi ldren and men with this

condition from all forms of abu se. From a (quasi)normative perspective,

it is undeniable that the U DHR has had and continues to have a great

impact on South Af ricans with albin ism (SAwA). It is, however, evident that

SAwA are yet to enjoy the benets of the UDHR since their pe rsecution

remains. Th rough a comparative analysis, the paper reco mmends that the

state should adopt a proactive step to forestal l violent attacks against SAwA.

1 Introduction

On 28 January 2018, three men kidn apped a 14-year-old girl with

albinism, Gabi sile Shabane, from her home.1 Her remains were later

found in the home of a local traditional healer (sangoma). In another

alarming incident, t wo men pleaded guilty and were each sentenced

to 20-years-imprison ment for the murder and harvesting of the body

parts of a woman with th is condition.2 This desperation for body par ts

once again raised its ugly head in March 2018 when the mutilated

* BA(Hons) Ghana, Mphil Dphi l (Pret), Research Fellow, School of Social Sciences,

University of KwaZulu Natal. I am i ndebted to the editor, the anonymous reviewers

and to Prof Radham any Sooryamoor thy (UKZN) for thei r comments on the earlie r

draft of th is article. The conventional caveats apply.

1 N Shange ‘Policeman reveal s horror he found at sangoma’s premises’ ENCA

(28 February 2018), available at https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/

2018-02-28-policeman-reveals-horror-he-found-at-sangomas-premises/, accessed

on 22December 2018.

2 K Singh ‘KwaZulu-Natal tr aditional healer gets l ife for murder of woman

with albinism’ Hufngton Post (23 February 2 017), available at https://www.

hufngtonpost.co.za/2017/02/23/kwazulu-natal-traditional-healer-gets-life-for-

mur d er - o f- wo m an - w_ a _ 2172 0 317/, accessed on 22 Dec ember 2018.

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(2019) 32 SACJ 181

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corpse of a 28-year-old man w ith this condition and his body pa rts

was exhumed in Mpumalanga.3

Akin to the cases d iscussed above, many South Africans with a lbinism

(SAwA) are constantly abducted and their body par ts harvested. Thi s

persecution is mostly based on a myt h that their parts po ssess magical

powers which brings good luck, sexual powers and riches.4 Whi le

some believe that a sexual encounter with this g roup can cure HIV/

AIDS, others assume t hat possessing their limbs can g uarantee better

health.5 Other incentives for this inhuma ne persecution is tied to its

apparent lucrative nature. The body part s of this group are perceived

to sell for a high price and, therefore, a way to make quick money.

Economically, the murder and hacking of body parts i s simply a matter

of supply and demand. In June 2016, a 28-year-old woman was arrested

in Empangeni (KwaZulu-Natal) for kidnapping and attempting to sell

a four-year-old boy with this condition to a sangoma for R100000.6

Ultimately, there would be little impetus for this gr isly act if there

were no willingness on the par t of customers to pay exorbitant fees

for magical pot ions.

At the community level, members of this g roup are killed or

ostracised because they are considered a source of bad luck or a

curse. Whereas the level of abduction and persecut ion of SAwA has

not escalated to the levels experienced in other (Southern) African

countries, there has been an upsurge in recent ti mes. Due to their

vulnerabilit y and the code of silence surrounding such crimes, severa l

cases have gone undocumented and unreported. Si nce these people

are marginalise d and require adequate measures to ensure thei r safety

and security, it is clear that this iss ue deserves urgent attention.

The killings coupled with the myster ious abductions of SAwA evoke

feelings of anxiety and uneasi ness in their localities. Due to these

possible dangers, persons with this condit ion are afraid to stay by

themselves, travel or wal k alone.7 It is, therefore, possible that some of

the missing persons with albi nism are victims of these at tacks, mainly

in light of the high rate of their persec ution.

3 T Head ‘Why are albino s being murdered in Sout h Africa?’ T he South African

(29 March 2018), available at https://www.thesouthafri can.com/albinos-murders-

south-africa-why/, accessed on 22 July 2019.

4 MP Mostert and M M Weich ‘Albinism in Afr ica: A proposed conceptua l framework

to understand and ef fectively address a continental cr isis’ (2017) 5 Afr Disability Rts

YB 101 at 10 9.

5 Ibid.

6 M Manqele ‘Albino boy traumati sed after traf cking ordeal’ IOL (13 July 2016),

available at https://www.iol.co.za/ news/albino-boy-traumatised-after-trafcking-

ordeal-2045002, accessed on 22 July 2019.

7 WJ Aceves ‘Two stories about skin c olor and international hu man rights advocac y’

(2015) 14 Wash U Global Stud L R 563 at 565.

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