Thugs exhume albino remains in Mchinji

Barely a week after President Peter Mutharika met representatives of Association of People with Albinism in Malawi (Apam) where he announced tough measures against albino killings, unknown thugs in Mchinji have exhumed remains of an albino boy who died last month.

Mchinji Police spokesperson Moses Nyirenda confirmed the incident to The Nation. He said the incident in Msemwe Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Simphasi was known on Sunday after people noted strange things on the grave where Spriano Felix, 20, was buried.

He said: “We went to the scene with forensic officers from Mchinji District Hospital and discovered that arms, legs and eyes were removed from the dead body. We ordered the reburial of the remains.”

Spriano, who was a Form Two student at Chimteka Community Day Secondary School (CDSS), died on April 20 and was buried the following day.

A medical report issued at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Lilongwe where he died said he succumbed to tuberculosis (TB).

University of Malawi (Unima) College of Medicine (CoM) senior lecturer and hematologist Yohane Mlombe said in an interview yesterday the culprits risk contracting TB from the deceased body.

Malawi has registered over 66 cases relating to albino killings, abductions, assaults and grave tampering.