Bukoba Court to hang two for albino’s death

MEDDY MULISA in Bukoba

BUKOBA High Court Judge Filimin Matogoro, today morning convicted two people of murder of a person with albinism (albino) and sentenced them to death by hanging.

The convicts were identified as Lameck Bazir (45), a resident of Rorya, in Mara Region and his father-in-law, Pancras Minago (72), resident of Rusabya village, in Biharamulo District.

Prosecuting Senior State Attorney Athuman Matuma, told the High Court during the hearing of the Criminal Case No 57/2015 that the two convicts, together with two other people not before the court, murdered the late Magdalena Andrea, who was an albino and escaped with her several body parts.

The offence was committed at around 7.30pm on September 21, 2008. Prosecution witness (PW 10), Fraisca Felix, told the high court that on the material date at around 4 p.m. second accused, Minago accompanied with two people arrived at her house and inquired to know whether Magdalena was present, but they were told that she had gone to a nearby local market.

Later, in the evening, she heard screams and rushed out only to see seven people pacing away from the scene, where she clearly identified the two convicts who had attacked the deceased.

Prosecution witness (PW 1), Evarist Andrea, told the high court that first accused (Bazir), arrived at their village of Rusabya saying: “Watu wa Biharamulo ni maskini, mnaachia dili (albino) atembee bila ulinzi,” implying that residents in Biharamulo could become rich if they kill an albino and get body parts.

He testified that at first, he disregarded the talk as a joke, when his sister (Magdalena) was killed on September 21, 2008 he remembered the remarks and reported the matter to a village chairman. Judge Matogoro ruled that the 12 prosecution witnesses were trusted and their evidence was collaborative, leaving no grain of doubt that there were no other killers but the convicts.

He passed the verdict that the expert’s evidence of the two government chemists Gloria Machuve (PW 11) and Fidelis Segumva ( PW 12), who conducted DNA tests on the weapon(s) used to kill the albino matched those of the accused and that was very crucial in the blood tests.