Albino Girl Beheaded in Witchcraft Murder

Body parts believed to be magical
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 23, 2010 3:51 AM CDT
Albino Girl Beheaded in Witchcraft Murder
Rukia Khalifan, 33, breast feeds her child after they were attacked earlier this year in Tanzania because they're albino.   (AP Photo/Vicky Alice Ntetema)

An 11-year-old girl has become the latest albino to be killed, ostensibly in a ritual murder. Banele Nxumalo was shot and beheaded in Swaziland by a man who grabbed her in front of friends as she washed clothes at a river. Police believe she was murdered because albino body parts and blood are believed to have magical powers, reports the Telegraph.

The killings are on the rise in sub-Saharan Africa where the condition is most prevalent. “What happened to my child is very painful," said her father. " I wonder why albinos are targeted because they are just humans like us and a gift from God." (More albino stories.)

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