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

JurisdictionSouth Africa
Date11 September 2019
Published date11 September 2019
Citation(2019) 32 SACJ 181
Pages181-201
AuthorBright 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.
181
(2019) 32 SACJ 181
© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd
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.
182 SACJ . (2019) 2
© Juta and Company (Pty) Ltd

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