PRESIDENT MRISHO JAKAYA KIKWETE IS EXPECTED TO GRANCE THE INTERNATIONAL ALBINISM AWARENESS DAY IN ARUSHA ON SATURDAY.

        WHILE President Jakaya Kikwete is expected to grace the International Albinism Awareness Day in Arusha on Saturday (June 13), the exact number of people with albinism in Tanzania continues to baffle experts here.

So far, there are conflicting figures between the Tanzania Albino Society (TAS) in contrast to the ones being floated by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), with the latter basing their numbers from the countrywide census of 2012 with latest adjustments for 2015.

        The NBS, which is a government agency dealing with official statistics, has recorded that the total number of people with albinism in the country so far stands at 16,477 with Dar es Salaam Region leading in having the highest population which has clocked at 1,637 - while Unguja-South has the smallest number with just 33.

         Katavi Region, an area famous for the albino (white) giraffes in its National Park, has the least number of albinos on Mainland Tanzania.

          The NBS reports that there are only 240 people with albinism in the new Katavi Region. But, Tanzania Albino Society’s through their website claims that the total number of people with albinism in the country was beyond 150,000.

       The Arusha Regional Commissioner (RC), Mr Daudi Felix Ntibenda, said here that thousands of delegates from all over Tanzania have started to flock Arusha City, where the main event is set to be staged at the Sheikh Amri Abeid Stadium on Saturday.

“We are going to use the event for raising awareness of the albino situation in Tanzania, where more than 75 people with albinism have so far been killed and many others maimed for life, with the victims continuing to suffer the wrath of witchcraft and supernatural beliefs,” said Mr Ntibenda.

        As far as the RC is concerned, Arusha has 199 people with albinism, among them 110 women and 89 men.However the official figure from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Arusha indicates that the entire region has 732 people with albinism.