Police engage herbalists on albinism attacks

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hitipaPolice Station officer Dan Sowden has asked traditional healers in the district to work with law enforcers to end attacks on people with albinism.

He said this on Tuesday during a meeting with the traditional healers.

Sowden said there were allegations that traditional healers are involved in the attacks of people with albinism.

He said: “We have established that those involved in the vice are not traditional healers, but impostors.

“So, we want them to be in the forefront protecting people with albinism by reporting anyone who approaches them with intentions to harm such people.”

In his remarks, Northern Region Traditional Healers president Edward Kayange said they are ready to work with the police to protect people with albinism.

He said: “We will ensure that traditional healers have certificates from one organisation to avoid confusion.

“We will also form committees to work with the police and chiefs.”

Association of People with Albinism Chitipa district chairperson Mavuto Lwinga commended the meeting, saying it was a step in the right direction.

In December last year, President Lazarus Chakwera said he had received a report on findings of an inquiry into killings and abductions of persons with albinism that was instituted by his predecessor Peter Mutharika.

Chakwera, who at the time did not disclose contents of the much-awaited report, made the announcement in passing when he met board members of Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi at Sanjika Palace in Blantyre.

In January this year, Saidi Dyton, a man with albinism, was abducted and murdered in Mangochi while in May, a 24-month-old baby with albinism was abducted in Chikwawa.