Woman arrested for offering to buy albino bones

Police in Machinga have arrested a 43-year-old woman for allegedly offering to buy bones of a person with albinism.

Machinga Police spokesperson Davie Sulumba said the woman, Mary Gundo, is said to have hired two men to get for her bones of a person with albinism or somebody who suffered from leprosy so that she could buy.

Sulumba said the two however, only managed to exhume from a grave yard bones of a person who used to have leprosy condition but were apprehended by police after being found with the bones.

Said Sulumba: “After interrogation, the two men told police that they wanted to sell the bones to Gundo.”

He further said the two suspects Mussa Kachepa, 47 of Koliha Village and Muhammed James, 27 of Karambo Village both from Traditional Authority Kawinga in Machinga are being charged with an offence of being found in possession of human tissues (bones) contrary to section 129 of the penal code.

“They pleaded guilty to the charges laid against them in court and the case is yet to be concluded,” said Sulumba.

Meanwhile, Gumbo has been charged with the offence of conspiracy to commit a felony which is contrary to section 404 of the penal code.

According to Sulumba, police are still interrogating Gumbo to find out what she intended to do with the bones and for how long she has been buying human body parts.

This comes at a time when government officials and senior police officers conducting anti-albino killings and abductions sensitisation meetings in the country have been cautioning people that there are no markets for albino body part in the country or abroad.

Principal Secretary in the ministry of Gender, Children, Disabilities and Social Welfare Dr Mary Shaba recently told a news conference that those who kill persons with albinism just have illusionary markets.

Shaba said the ministry conducted a research on the issue and could not find a market for the body parts.