Apam, police condemn albino grave-tampering in Mulanje

The Association of Persons with Albinism in Malawi (Apam) and police have condemned the tampering of a grave belonging to a two-year-old boy with albinism in Mulanje District last week.

In an interview, Mulanje Police Station spokesperson Gresham Ngwira said the incident happened at Duguda Village in Senior Chief Mabuka in the district.

He said group village head Duguda, who notified police of the incident, told the law enforcers that the boy, identified as Happy Makungwa, died of malaria on December 16 2019 and was buried the following day.

Ngwira said a day after burial, passers-by noticed that the grave had been tampered with. They notified the family who then reported the matter to the village head and eventually  to the police.

“When the police was called, we went to the grave site where we discovered that indeed it was tampered with.

“In the presence of the family and the village head, we made sure that the grave should be sealed with concrete,” he said.

Ngwira further said police have since launched investigations to arrested those who tampered with the grave.

While acknowledging the incident, Apam president Ian Simbota said in an interview last week that it is shocking and disappointing that such things keep on happening.

He said: “These are some of the reasons why we asked for a commission of inquiry to discover the same so that this could possibly give an assurance to us that there won’t be any demand since a market won’t exist anymore.

“We are afraid because we continue to lose so many of our friends and it is disappointing in my view that enough is not being done to put an end to our killings.”

In March last year, President Peter Mutharika appointed an eight-member commission of inquiry to investigate the attacks and abductions of people with albinism.

The results of the inquiry are yet to be released.