THE president of the Namibia Albino Association, Joseph Ndinomupya, says people with albinism are forced to limit their movement to avoid putting their lives at risk.
Ndinomupya yesterday reacted to events in which two men were this week arrested in Windhoek while negotiating the sale of human hair, among others, the hair of those with albinism.
He said such incidents are not isolated.
The men were arrested while negotiating the sale of hair and nails of people with albinism, which were allegedly about to be transported to Katima Mulilo for rituals.
In a video The Namibian has seen, the suspects said the hair was being sent to the Zambezi region where Indian nationals would buy it for “millions of dollars”.
“This incident concerns people with albinism in Namibia. Our freedom is very limited, because we do not know whether there are more people connected to the same thing,” Ndinomupya said.
He said members of the community should be vigilant and should not even trust their friends and family.
He said such practices are harmful to people with albinism – especially when money is involved.
Khomas regional police commander commissioner Ismael Basson yesterday confirmed the incident.
He said the two suspects appeared in the Katutura Magistrate’s Court in Windhoek on Tuesday and were denied bail.
The case was postponed to 26 June, he said.
Chief inspector Christina van Dunem Dafonsech-Shikongo, who was present when the suspects were apprehended, this week said: “This is a threat to our people, and I condemn such acts.”
She is calling on members of the public to assist the police in combating crimes by reporting them.
Ambambi Alweendo, who has albinism, says people with albinism being used for witchcraft stigmatises the community and spreads fear.
“It’s like we are not seen as normal people, but as people used for rituals and witchcraft. It’s a bad situation,” he says.
Alweendo says society needs to be educated on albinism and informed that it’s not a curse.
“People will always judge something they do not understand, or something that is different from them,” he says.
Alweendo says people with albinism should not be discouraged by stigma.
“You will always be criticised, no matter what you do. But the most important thing is to live your own life. It’s who I am, I can’t change it,” he says.
Monica Johannes* is the mother of a girl with albinism, who says she is scared the recent incident would traumatise her daughter.
The National Federation of People with Disabilities in Namibia’s administrative assistant, Elizabeth Namwandi, says they are shocked about the incident taking place locally.
“We usually read things like that about countries such as Kenya or Tanzania. We are no longer free, and we are already at risk of lots of things, such as sexual harrasment, being bullied because of our colour,” she says.
Walde Kambabi, the vice president of the Namibia Albino Association, who spoke on behalf of the victim of this week’s incident, says the suspects called the victim, telling him people wanted to conduct business with him.
He agreed, upon which the police could set a trap for the perpetrators and arrest them.
Kambabi said the suspects were requesting to take the victim along to the Zambezi region where, upon arrival, he would be compensated.
*Not her real name.