VANCOUVER (CANADA)-On October 26, 2021, the grave of a man with albinism, who was one of the beneficiaries of our education program, Mr. Heri Shekigenda Kijangwa, was desecrated in Tanda Village, LushotoDistrict in Tanga region of Tanzania.
The perpetrators dug up his grave and stole the coffin containing his remains. The perpetrators remain at large, and neither his remains nor the coffin has been found.
Heri passed away last year on July 4, 2020, from skincancer at the age of 45 and was buried on July 7, 2020.
At the time of death, Heri was a lab technician at Temeke hospital. He was also completing his master’s degree in public health at Muhimbili University. Prior to that, he completed a Bachelor of Science degree at International Medical and Technological University from which he graduated in 2015.
Both degrees were sponsored by our Education Program. Heri is survived by a wife and four young children.
Our deepest condolences to Heri’s family who are dealing with this recent crime only a short while
after losing Heri to skin cancer.
We strongly condemn this crime and every commission and omission on the part of government and ongoing discrimination in society at large which have enabled such crimes in the country.
We call upon the government of Tanzania to intensify its efforts in preventing skin cancer. We further call on the government to immediately speed up its effort to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of this crime.
Under The Same Sun (UTSS) has been at the forefront of defending the rights of people with
albinism internationally – with a focus on Tanzania and Africa since its inception in 2008. UTSS
has observer status at the African Union and the United Nations. It also leads the Africa Albinism
Network.