The curse that is Nollywood

By Oscar Obonyo

Sammy Kyamana is a cheerful fun-loving young man, but the mention of Nigerian movies sends shivers down his spine.

He is not alone. This strange feeling is lately common among scores of albinos, who fear the wave of killings targeting them, mainly in Tanzania, is partly influenced by Nigerian movies. Their main themes revolve around witchcraft.

The Kenya Films Censorship Board Chief Executive David Pkosing

Although the Nigerian movies are not solely to blame for the albino killings in Tanzania, recent police and media reports now link the murders to gruesome witchcraft episodes in some of the Nigerian productions.

Over the years, the West African country’s film industry has expanded greatly and acquired the pet name, Nollywood, Nigeria’s version of America’s home of cinema — Hollywood.

Nollywood’s main menu, though, comprises too much black magic. Many are however hooked on to the movies because they identify with common African themes, such as poverty and witchcraft.

Lifestyles

Unlike yesteryears when lifestyles were shaped by traditional values, Kenya’s film censorship boss notes that today this has been replaced by electronic socialisation.

"Ordinarily people digest and try to ape what they see. This is worrying because movies, such as those from Nigeria, have proven to be effective tools of impacting on people’s lives," states Pkosing.

Discrimination against albinos has been endemic in sub-Saharan Africa, but the latest spate of killings of people with albinism has terrified and astonished many.

In the meantime, albino killings in the neighbouring country continue unabated. The latest incident occurred last Sunday following the murder and mutilation of a 10-year-old girl, Esther Charles.

Gangs, which sell body parts as lucky charms to sorcerers, killed Esther in the village of Shilela, in the western Shinyanga region.

She died just hours after President Jakaya Kikwete called for an intensified crackdown because the killings had "stained the country’s good image."

Magic powers

"It is utterly stupid for some people to believe that albinos have magic powers and their parts can make them rich," he told a rally organised by the Tanzania Albino Society (Tas).

Tanzanian police have arrested 47 people over the killings. And as the Tanzanian authorities tighten operations, there are fears that the would-be culprits will turn their hunting escapades to neighbouring countries.

Already some have invaded Burundi forcing albinos there to go into hiding. According to latest reports, three of them have already succumbed to killer gangs apparently seeking to sell body parts in Tanzania.

In some of the horrifying incidents, two of the albinos killed in Burundi — a man and a teenage girl — were reportedly found with their legs and arms missing. Police said the tip of the girl’s tongue was also removed. Locals claim witch doctors use the body parts to "enable" their clients grow rich.

The dangerous trend has not reached Kenya, but the authorities are on the look out at the Kenya-Tanzania border points.

"When reports in Mwanza (Tanzania) linking the killings to Nigerian movies filtered through I quickly raised our staff in Kisumu to study the situation.

"We found out that there was no influx of Nigerian stuff in the lakeside town and no albino related deaths had been reported," says Pkosing.

Concurs Kyamana: "This has never been a problem in Kenya. I think our cultures are more accommodative and I know for sure, that there are many people who would do anything to protect me from physical harm or any form of prejudice."

The Sociology and Literature student, who doubles up as a social worker at the Association for Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK), recounts with ease his recent trip to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

"I remember colleagues vowing to form a ring around me and offer protection throughout the trip. But anyway, we were just being cautious."

Nigerian movies

However, Tanzania police officers confirm that the towns are awash with the "highly polluted" Nigerian movies that eventually find their way to rural areas.

The officials say the killings are worst in rural areas, where people are relatively less educated and more superstitious. Back home, the Kenya Film Censorship Board has devised ways of keeping out occult movies.

"As a matter of routine, we examine all tapes coming into the country for occultism among other unacceptable contents.

"The challenge, though, is that most of these movies are pirated in the country," observes Pkosing.

Consequently, the board has given film distributors and marketers a grace period of four months to register their products and have them classified.

"At the end of this period, we shall stage a series of swoops and all pirated material," he adds.