Upload
leduong
View
222
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Jean Burke Australian Catholic University
Motivated by profit and witchcraft beliefs: East African networks target people with albinism
East Africans with albinism
What can we learn from the media about the illicit networks targeting Tanzanians with albinism?
• 391 articles: 206 Swahili, 183 English• Using court reports of trials of arrested suspects• And police reports of attacks on people with
albinism
Cases – albino murders/ attacksCases by name
Number articles
Age of victim
Date of attack
Network size
Location
M E 11 5 Jan 21 , 2008
3? Mwanza
E C 10 9 Oct 2009 5+ Kahama
M D 38 13 Dec 1, 2008
6+ Shinyanga
L W 41 51 4 Dec 2008 7+ Shinyanga
R M 2 20 Aug 2010 1 Mwanza
A N 6 26 June 2009
10+ Mwanza
A R 11 14 14 Oct 2011 4+ Geita
Cases and convictionsCases Suspects Arrests Released Dates of
trialConvictions Sentences
M E 3 2 1 Mar 3 2012
1 Death byHanging
E C 5 5 1 2 Death by hanging
M D 6 5 1 Nov 3 2009
3 Death by hanging
L W 7 5 1 Nov 3 2009
4 Death by hanging
R M 1 1 Aug 19 2010
1 Jail & fine
A N 10 3 1(died) 0
A R 4 3 0
P 2 2 0
Key players
“a dreadful tripartite network” consisting of “traditional healers, their customers and contract killers” (Citizen 2011 December 21)
Out of 172 arrested in March 2008, 71 confessed they “had been told by witchdoctors to bring albino body parts” (BBC 2008 April 30)
Role DescriptorTraditional healers, witchdoctors
Specialists in prescribing and making potions, instruct attackers on removing body parts and provide them protective medicines
Customers Buy custom-made medicines, provide funds
Attackers,Assassins
Contracted to attack persons with albinism and remove their body parts
Scouters Collect information about potential victims
Sellers Persons close to victim, including kin, who receive money to facilitate access for attackers
Dealers Negotiate deals and coordinate between other actors
Transporters Store and/or transport body parts
Corrupt officials
Work in official positions and receive bribes for corrupt behaviour or concealing information
Node Roles
Node characteristics
Males Aged 21-60 years Professions stated as traditional healer,
businessman, village chair. Traditional healers also took on roles of
scouting, attacking and transporting Some nodes took on multiple roles Data rarely includes details of customers
Network operationPreparation stage Witchdoctor recommends special potion to customer Scouters may build trust and observe victim’s habits or dialogue
with them Meetings held to plan and negotiate deals Witchdoctor may provide protective medicine to attackers
Action stage Attack or murder carried out, and body parts removed
Fulfilling contracts After attack, body parts are stored temporarily or transported. Payments finalised
Exchanges
Tangible Intangible
Money Information
Body organs knowledge
Medicine skills
Meetings protection
Written information plans
Enduring networks
Same village
MD
Close relative
Same district
Convicted of murder
Names suppressed
Case MD
Enduring networks
Same village
Same region
EC Close relative
Same players in MD’s murder
Case EC
Opportunistic sellers
‘Friends’ from same tribe, village
Case RM
Interventions
Guardian October 2014
Interventions
Banning licences of traditional healers– Targets profession of key players with specialised
skills Campaign to anonymously inform on suspects
– Due to fear of reprisal – 97,736 people named in this poll. 11 cases of
suspected albino killers brought to trial, with 27 ongoing investigations (Citizen 2010 Feb 3).
Community policing, supported by community education, symbolic actions and moral voices
Opportunistic sellers – forming networks
Imposters of criminals
Case RM
Opportunistic sellers
Arrests made in sting operations by police: 1. traditional healer posing as a witchdoctor, when
approached by seller from Kenya 2. Police posing as customers, after community
informed police Relied on “community policing” In context where anyone might be a customer, and
only some traditional healers are diviners (witchdoctors)
Vulnerable chain while in state of forming links
So what? In resource-poor nations, media can be a legitimate
source of data for network analysis. A UN official stated the media “reports have assisted
the authorities to have a clearer picture of what is going on” (Guardian 2009, February 10)
Mixed networks of ideology/ profit motive = vulnerable dense clusters with more secure chain tails, with brokers as key finger-pointers
Opportunistic sellers, close to victims, seeking to connect to networks, may be vulnerable to disruption when community is co-operative and networked with law enforcement.
ReferencesBright, David A., Hughes, Caitlin E. and Chalmers, J. (2012)
Illuminating dark networks: a social network analysis of an Australian drug trafficking syndicate. Crime Law Social Change. 57: 151-176
Burke, J. (2013). Media framing of violence against Tanzanians with albinism in the Great Lakes region: a matter of culture, crime, poverty and human rights. The Australasian Review of African Studies, 34(2), 57-77.
Labuschagne, G. (2004) Features and investigative implications of muti murder in South Africa. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling, 1: 191-206
Morselli, C., Giguere, C. & Petit, K. (2007) The efficiency/security trade-off in criminal networks. Social Networks, 29: 143-153
Under the Same Sun (2012) Children with albinism in Africa: murder mutilation and violence, A report on Tanzania. Under the Same Sun