CRPD/C/20/D/23/2014
be considered separately. The State party’s request for a split of the admissibility and the
merits was denied on 12 May 2015.
A.
Summary of the information and arguments submitted by the parties
The facts as submitted by the author
2.1
The author was born in 1999. He is from Nyaruguguna, a village in the Geita Region
of the United Republic of Tanzania. He and his brother are persons with albinism. As a
consequence, their family neglected and abandoned them. Since then, a local nongovernmental organization (NGO), Under the Same Sun, 2 has been taking care of them.
2.2
In 2008, due to the escalation in the killings and violence committed against persons
with albinism, the author and his brother feared being killed. Therefore, they stopped
attending Nyangw’hale Primary School, which was miles away from their home and
required them to make a long a trek through thick bushes, during which they could easily be
attacked.
2.3
On an unspecified date in 2010, when the author was only 11 years old, a neighbour
forcibly shaved the author’s hair. The State party failed to investigate the matter and the
neighbour was never prosecuted.3
2.4
On 14 October 2011, when the author was 12, he was attacked in Geita Region by a
man with a machete, who stole three of the fingers of his right hand. The attacker also
hacked the author’s left shoulder with the machete, leaving him unable to use his right hand
and left arm. The author escaped from his attacker by biting his genitals. He was left
wounded in front of his home. The State party did not provide him with any medical aid or
rehabilitation. Later, in 2012, Under the Same Sun brought the author back to school.
However, after two years without access to formal education, the author has faced great
difficulties and is still unable to read or write properly.
2.5
The State party initiated an investigation into the crime suffered by the author. On
15 October 2011, based on testimony by the author and some of his neighbours, three
people were detained and taken to court: R.T., the author’s biological father; A.M., his
stepmother; and M.A., his uncle. On 16 October 2011, they appeared before a magistrate’s
court in Geita for the attempted murder of the author and for acts of violence.
2.6
In June 2012, the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charges against R.T.,
A.M. and M.A. for lack of evidence. The State prosecutor told the court that more time was
needed to finalize the investigation, but nothing has been done to that end. The author has
waited two years before submitting his communication to the Committee, without any
prospect of redress from the domestic authorities. In this connection, the author notes that
only 5 of the 72 murders of persons with albinism documented since the year 2000 in the
United Republic of Tanzania have resulted in successful prosecutions. 4 In the great majority
of cases, the State party’s authorities have failed to investigate and prosecute the
perpetrators due to an alleged lack of evidence, thereby maintaining impunity and
encouraging the perpetuation of persecution, discrimination and killings of persons with
albinism.5
2.7
According to statistics provided by the author, the number of persons with albinism
in the United Republic of Tanzania is estimated to be more than 200,000.6 He claims that
2
3
4
5
6
2
Under The Same Sun is a charitable organization registered in Canada and in the United States of
America, founded in 2008 by Peter Ash. Its goal is to promote the well-being of persons with albinism
through advocacy and education. Its website is www.underthesamesun.com.
The author does not provide further information on this matter.
The author does not provide details on the circumstances of the five successful prosecutions.
The Under the Same Sun organization issued an updated report in January 2014 on attacks against
persons with albinism, entitled “PWA attacks and legal action”. As at January 2014, only 11 similar
cases out of the 139 reported had resulted in convictions by courts in the State party.
The United Republic of Tanzania has one of the highest rates of albinism in the world, estimated at 1
in 1,429 people. See “Albinos in Africa: a population at risk”, available at