People with albinism cry foul

Executive director of the Albino Association of Malawi Boniface Massah has expressed dissatisfaction with government’s handling of cases involving perpetrators of albinism related crimes. Addressing a news conference in Lilongwe on Tuesday, Massah said the atrocious crimes being committed against people with albinism are instilling fear and on the other hand encouraging some to join in and victimise albinos.

Reports sourced from police and other sectors indicate that eight albinos, including a two-year-old, have been abducted and are still missing.

In addition, there have also been alleged exhumations of remains of persons with albinism in Machinga and Blantyre.

Said Massah: “This is a crisis, people with albinism are not sure what to expect and don’t even trust one another. The other burning issue is the lack of lawyers to represent us. You find that perpetrators have legal representation and we have none, how does that play out for us? When perpetrators are found guilty, the sentences meted out are so minimal that within a short period they are back in society. Can crimes against us be curbed in this manner? Where do we run to?”

However, Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare Patricia Kaliati assured the association that government is doing all it can to salvage the situation and get to the bottom of the matter.

Said Kaliati: “There have been certain sentences which were not stiff enough and we are thinking of appealing. Let it be known that we will address all these concerns and that if they [the association] feel that there is something we are not addressing, they should not hesitate to approach us.”

According to police reports, Malawi has a population of  7 500 persons with albinism and Machinga District has the highest recorded number of abductions. The remains of albinos are allegedly being sold in Mozambique. n