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SOUTHERN AFRICA HUMAN RIGHTS  NGOS NETWORK  TANZANIA CHAPTER

HUMAN  RIGHTS MONTHLY REPORT

JUNE 1999

To read the full report
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KILLING ELDERLY  WOMEN

Some community members in the regions around Lake Victoria harbour a misguided belief that the red eyed aging women are witches. Hence they tend to attribute every social calamities to them. As a result,  some community members have been killing poor old women on witchcraft  accusations. More than six cases of brutal murders have been reported in the media in a period from the beginning of June up to the time of making this survey. Indeed apart from taking away lives of these poor  women, whose faces naturally look ugly due to the combination of old age and  vagaries of life hardship, the murdererā€™s subject them to severe torture. There  were reports of cutting away tongues, stabbing and setting them on fire.

The  government however is seemingly dragging feet to crackdown on the suspected killers. There are no frantic efforts on the part of the government to track on  the killers as it is expected of it. The NGOs are however trying hard to advocate against this inhumanity, and pushing the government to respond more strongly.

TRADING IN HUMAN SKINS

A cross  border business in human skins has reportedly been booming along the border with  DRC, Malawi and Zambia. It has been recalled that human porchers export human skins in Malawi, where the commodity is in high demand to the witch doctors. The police in Tanzania was informed that human skins were hunted by witchdoctors under the superstitious  belief that the same has power to protect houses from evil spirit and agents of witchcraft. Moreover, it is reportedly superstitiously believed that human skins  are used in special rituals for increasing harvests and attracting customers to local pombe clubs and shops.

As a result of the desire to reap money from the trade some people have been killing  others and skinning them. This practice has been pronounced in Mbeya, the  Southern region of Tanzania bordering the Republic of Malawi. The  police reported several murders, where human dead bodies were found with their  skins missing.

Reportedly skinning exercise, is carried out while victims are  alive as the condition for the material to have the required superstitious  power. In one such incident a 13 year old standard five pupil by the name of Jacob Kajange fell victim of skinning. Yet in another  incident in the same region, a youth who was held by the residents in that locality for allegations of theft, got disappeared. It was shortly reported that, his body was found in a bush with its skin missing.

The  police is trying hard to track on the human skin porchers and the witchdoctors. In the exercise, several  suspects have been apprehended and charged and the interstate co-operation  between Malawi, Tanzania and the DRC has been called for.

This criminal practices are one of unprecedented abuse of peopleā€™s basic rights to life, needless to say it is  offending the very essence of human dignity. 

MURDERS AND LIFE THREATS TO THE MEDIA WORKERS

In recent  months, the public has witnessed how far individuals with money can terrorize the population and stand on the way of justice. This is an event, where two Indian businessmen, were criminally charged for tax avoidance, after importing ā€˜Khangasā€™ in the country without paying  tax.

Two young  men, MtumwaHassan (30) and  Khan Mohamed (30) both were key witnesses before the court. They were both  murdered in mysterious circumstances and their bodies were thrown in some places  outside the city.

Following  that incident, the syndicate of people with unknown identity has being voicing  threats by telephones to the remaining witnesses and once to the editor of  ā€˜TaifaLetuā€™ a weekly  newspaper, which gave a researched report on the event. The terrorists have been  introducing themselves as members of a countrywide syndicate charged to kill anybody who involves himself / herself in the case. Hence the witnesses have been warned to stop cooperating with the prosecution side and the newspaper  editor has been informed of his being placed in a deathrow.

The  threats have been reported to the police, and the victims have been assured of  protection. This is by all means a dangerous development. It is terrifying to  have a society with some few rich people committing offences and going out to exterminate peopleā€™s lives in a bid to protect themselves against the arm of the law. This is ā€œMafiaā€ extension, which should be fought at any  cost.

STATE WAR AGAINST  POLICE CORRUPTION

In 1997, the presidential commission on corruption popularly known as Warioba Commission, which was charged to investigate on the  causes and areas of corruption in the public service, submitted its report to the president. The police force was identified as one of the public service  tainted with corruption.

The  government following that report pledged intervention in every sector to  eradicate the culture of corruption. However nothing much was ever done to show some seriousness on the part of the government.

Towards  the end of June 1999, the inspector General of Tanzania Police  Force Omar Mahita, ordered for sacking of 150 police  officials from service of the force. A substantial number of the sacked police  officials were accused of engaging in corruption. This stern decision to curb  corruption in the police force was received by admiration by the Tanzanians, who  often have their rights compromised for corruption  reasons.

However  much remains to be done, to overcome the culture of corruption and inaction of  the police force. Recently, the residents of Dar es Salaam had volunteered  information on the hard core criminals and murderers to the police force who  perpetuate crimes with impunity, but the police, have decided to sit on the fence leaving the muggers to walk scot free and step up their criminality.

INSTANT  JUSTICE

The  tendency for people in urban areas to take the law in their own hands and persecute suspects, have almost been institutionalized in Tanzania. This is partly attributed to police irresponsibility and corruption. There have been  instances, when criminals were apprehended by the people and taken to the police  station and Ā charge laid against them. In some cases  the same criminals would come back to the community and retaliate to the very  people who had handed them over to the police.

On the other hand the wave of mob justice is inspired by some police officers who seem  to silently support it. At times the police officers tend to encourage people to deal with their criminal on their own, as they (police) are very few and cannot reach everywhere.

On 21st June 1999, a mob  justice incident was reported in which a youth of 25 attempted to steal a chicken was beaten up to death by the mob. After killing him they tied up, the chicken on his neck.

In some  few months ago, the Director of Criminal Prosecutions, condemned actions of instant justice, ordering Ā the police to bring to book people who  persecute others. However, on 14th July 1999, the Member of  Parliament of Mbozi East, in Mbeya region, was  reported to have addressed the people in his constituency, where actions of skinning people were taking place, directing them to take law in their hands and  not only kill the culprit but proceed to skin him. ā€œWe plead with the government  to understand our stand as we intend to end the practice in the district once and for allā€. He said such directions to the people, coming from the mouth of their representative will definitely have an impact in terms of encouraging mob justice.

CONCLUSION

A culture  of respecting and observance of human rights, can hardly be attained merely by pressurizing the government to set human rights institutions and mechanisms. As shown earlier in this report, human rights abuse in Tanzania society are perpetuated at various levels from the state to the family levels.

Hence a  wide-ranging efforts including popular human rights education to the communities  as well as state officials should be our agenda. This certainly calls for relentless joint efforts from SAHRINGON members in working towards protection  and promotion of human rights in the region. This cooperation of course, can be worked out in different forms. Information exchange, capacity building and lobbying and advocacy for institutional changes, can be the lines of  cooperation.