A series of murders of albinos in Tanzania’s north-west mining frontier has been
shrouded in a discourse of primitivism by the international and national press,
sidestepping the significance of the contextual circumstances of an artisanal
mining boom firmly embedded in a global commodity chain and local profit
maximisation. The murders are connected to gold and diamond miners’ efforts to secure lucky charms for finding minerals and protection against danger while
mining. Through the concept of fetish creation, this article interrogates the
agency of those involved in the murders : the miners who purchase the albino
charms, the waganga healers renowned for their healing, divination and sorcery
skills who prescribe and sell the charms, and the albino murder victims. The
agrarian background, miners’ ambitions and a clash of values comprise our
starting point for understanding the victimisation of albinos.