THREE members of the same family are in police custody as suspects of digging up and stealing a coffin with Heri Kijangwa’s remains (a man with albinism) in Lushoto, Tanga.

Kijangwa (45) died on June 4, 2020 from cancer and was buried in Tanda village. On October 26, 2021 the perpetrators dug up the grave and disappeared with the remains believed to have been in connection with witchcraft.

Tanga Regional Police Commander, Safia Jongo told The Guardian that Kijangwa’s relatives is also believed to have worked with the perpetrators as the grave is just five meters away from the household and they could have noticed or seen the act.

Kijangwa was a husband and father of four. He is said to have been a lab technician at Temeke Referral Hospital in Dar es Salaam and was pursuing a Master’s degree at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences.

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He was a beneficiary of a sponsored degree by Under the Same Sun (UTSS) an activist organisation for people with albinism, an organisation that reported the incident leading to Police followup.

“We call upon the government to immediately speedup efforts to investigate the incident and prosecute the perpetrators of this crime,” said the UTSS statement.

Police is still investigating the incident and the suspects will be taken to court soon after.