Authorities in Mozambique have opened an inquiry into the theft of body parts from an albino citizen who just passed away and was buried.
The strange episode, according to the BBC, took place in the Tete province’s Moatize area, in the western region of the country of eastern Africa.
Before stealing pieces of the corpse, the robbers reportedly dug through concrete that had been used to reinforce the tomb.
According to reports, the 50-year-old dead was just laid to rest in a community that borders Malawi. His kin reinforced the tomb with concrete to deter any body theft, but the move backfired.
“The cemetery is isolated. To get there it is a long distance, to go alone you have to think twice, otherwise, maybe a team [was involved],” the BBC quotes Remane Madane, an albino rights activist as saying.
The incident has triggered outrage, with advocates for albinos’ rights urging the Mozambique police to launch a prompt inquiry to identify and apprehend those responsible.
People with albinism, who lack pigment in their skin and seem pale, are hunted like game and slain for ritual purposes in various African nations, including Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
Some individuals in those African nations think the power of their black magic is enhanced by using albinos’ body parts in witchcraft. Another strange myth holds that albinos cannot feel free to move around, especially in remote locations, since albinos’ body parts are taken and used in rituals, which causes companies to prosper.