By Marcus Moloko and Johnathan Paoli
Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala appeared before Parliament’s ad hoc committee this week to testify on his controversial business deals, payments allegedly made to former Police Minister Bheki Cele, and his lavish lifestyle.
The proceedings took an unexpected turn as Matlala, known for his dealings with high-end officials, stunned MPs when he recounted the trauma of his childhood.
Questioned by EFF leader Julius Malema, Matlala revealed that his mother had albinism and that her life was shattered by violence that was rooted in superstition.
“I heard later that she was raped because there was this myth that if you can rape an albino, then you can get cured for whatever,” he told the committee.
The sexual assault, he said, led to her absconding, leaving him to grow up on the streets of Mamelodi.
Years later, he found his mother, terminally ill. She had since died, he said.
Matlala’s account is not an isolated tragedy. Across Africa, people with albinism have long been subjected to discrimination, attacks, and murder.
Harmful beliefs that their body parts brought wealth, luck, and healing have been reported to have fuelled widespread violence.
An Albinism network report in 2023 documented 711 cases of attacks across 31 countries, including 242 killings. These incidents ranged from attempted murders and mutilations to rapes, desecrations, and the trafficking of body parts.
While less extreme than Tanzania or Malawi, South Africa has seen a rise in violent crimes against persons with albinism. Victims face marginalisation, threats, and targeted attacks, often without adequate protection.
The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights ruled in 2025 that Tanzania failed to protect people with albinism, holding the state accountable for ritual killings and mutilations.
These reports confirm the myth Matlala described: that sexual assault or body parts of people with albinism can cure illness.
Reports indicate that in Tanzania, Malawi, and Burundi, ritual killings have been particularly severe, with doctors and criminal networks perpetuating the belief that charms made from the bones or skin of people with albinism brought fortune. Victims are often children abducted and murdered for their body parts.
South Africa has not been immune. Reports, including some documentaries, highlight that persons with albinism faced discrimination in schools, workplaces, and communities.
The SciELO journal of 2017 notes that new evidence indicated a surge in violent crimes against persons with albinism in South Africa and warned that state institutions had failed to provide adequate protection.
Malema, during proceedings, noted that South African’s carried the weight of inherited trauma.
INSIDE POLITICS