Ministry orders speedy probe of PWA murder

The Ministry of Homeland Security has ordered police to expedite investigations into the murder of Ian Muhama, 21, a person with albinism (PWA) in Kachere Township, Blantyre mid this month.

In a statement yesterday, Minister of Homeland Security Richard Chimwendo Banda said his ministry will involve all stakeholders within seven day to discuss progress of the matter.

He said: “The ministry re-affirms its commitment to protecting rights of PWAs in the country.

“The ministry will, thus, call for a stakeholders meeting within the next seven days to renew and discuss efforts being made by Malawi Police Service in combating barbaric attacks against PWAs”.

Chimwendo Banda said the ministry was compelled to intervene on the matter following an official complaint from the Association of Persons with Albinism in Malawi (Apam) on the matter.

Muhama’s mutilated body was found on August 13 at Kachere Township.

His limbs were found near Mudi River in the same location.

South West Police Region spokesperson Ramsey Mushani told The Nation in an interview that the body was found in a decomposed state and that police exhumed the body for autopsy following the discovery of the limbs on Saturday.

Apam president Ian Simbota last week demanded an investigation into the matter.

In a statement on the development, the United Nations (UN) Malawi expressed sadness over the killing and called on government to fully implement the National Action Plan on Persons with Albinism.

Over 170 people with albinism have been killed or abducted in the country over the past seven years, according to Apam.

Earlier this year, two other PWAs were attacked. In December 2017, UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on persons with albinism where it stressed the need to address the root causes of discrimination and violence against them.