Shinyanga — Police in Shinyanga region are holding five suspects in connection with murder of a nine-year old albino girl, Ester Charles, at Segese village in Kahama district early this week.

Mzolewa Mashili, 44, the Malita village executive officer (VEO) and step father of the deceased young girl, who was in Standard Five at Shilela Primary School, was among those apprehended.

Shinyanga regional police commander Shaib Ibrahim named others in custody as Lucas Hamisi, 21, Martin John, 18, Said Waziri, 24, and Venance Joseph, 38, all being residents of Kahama district. The suspects were arrested after a search of the culprits was conducted by the police, he said.

The murder of the young albino girl was part of protests mounted at a march by the skin pigment disabled people in Dar es Salaam last week. Repeated murders of members of that community brought President Jakaya Kikwete to ask the police to launch countrywide search of albino murder suspects, often relatives of the victims.

Condemning the witchcraft source of systematic targeting of albinos for murder and taking of body parts, the president said the death penalty will be applied for anyone convicted of involvement in murder of an albino.

The murder rekindled the raging debate internationally over albino killings in Tanzania, with the government blamed for sitting in a lameduck posture while suspects of those murders walk scot free.

The director of criminal investigations, Robert Manumba has recently affirmed that police had at various times taken to court scores of suspects implicated in the murders or in the despicable trade in their body parts.

Albino killings have attracted an anti-discrimination activist, Mr Peter Ash from Canada, who is currently in the country to raise awareness on the problem. Mr Ash who is himself an albino and a successful businessman will hold meetings with government officials to talk on the sensitive matter and seek their commitment to stem the killings.

The brutal Shinyanga incident came nearly two weeks after a similar case was reported in Meatu district in the region, where seven-year old boy was brutally murdered and both hands were chopped off.

Grassroots leaders and residents in various areas in Shinyanga region need to inform law enforcers whenever there is a tip that could enable them to arrest individuals or medicinemen involved in the witchcraft murders of albinos.