2 battle for life after assault for being 'vampires'
Oh, the horror: An irrational fear of the dreaded ‘nyonya damu’ led to the brutal assault of two TMAA employees, lending credence to recent Pew Centre revelations that Tanzanians are among the most superstitious people in the world. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- 30 year old Peter Lucas and Edwin Rweikiza, 25, were admitted to Singida Regional Hospital yesterday with severe injuries following an altercation at Ilisya, an idyllic village in Western Singida.
Singida. 2 employees of the Tanzania Minerals Audit Agency (TMAA) are fighting for their lives after they were brutally assaulted by irate villagers who accused them of being vampires.
30 year old Peter Lucas and Edwin Rweikiza, 25, were admitted to Singida Regional Hospital yesterday with severe injuries following an altercation at Ilisya, an idyllic village in Western Singida.
Officials told our reporter in Singida that the two had trekked to Ilisya on a scheduled geological audit late yesterday when they were accosted by a mob of furious youths.
Despite repeated attempts to assure locals they were TMAA representatives, they were surrounded and attacked on suspicion of being the dreaded ‘nyonya damu’ – a local approximation of the mythological ‘vampires’ common in western folklore.
Mr Rweikiza bore the brunt of the violence: local doctors report he suffered skull fractures and significant brain trauma and had to be airlifted to the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Moshi for specialized care earlier today.
