Albino abductions worry CSOs

A rights group called Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) has accused the Malawi Police Service (MPS) of failing to successfully investigate cases of abductions and killings of people with albinism.

In a statement issued yesterday and signed by chairperson Timothy Mtambo, his deputy Gift Trapence and secretary Mwiza Nkhata, the HRDs have said the failure shakes their trust in the police service.

The remarks follow the missing of a man with albinism, Macdonald Masambuka, 22, of Nakawa Village, Traditional Authority (T/A) Nkoola in Machinga District in February.

From 2014 to date, 21 persons with albinism have been killed and over nine cases of abductions have been reported. Three of these cases have been recorded in the last four months.

The HRDs have since said they are deeply concerned by the rate at which attacks on persons with albinism continue to happen in the country.

“While our brothers and sisters with albinism continue being killed and attacked, authorities choose to do business as usual, with little or no urgency in their protection and response,” it reads in part.

They have since called on government to accord the issue the attention and priority it deserves.

“We also call upon all stakeholders and the general citizenry to work together in dealing with the most requisite haste,” it adds.

Meanwhile, MPS deputy national spokesperson Thomeck Nyaude has said while they are accountable to the public, they cannot always divulge information about investigations.

In April 2016, A United Nations (UN) independent expert on the rights of persons with disabilities Ikponwosa Ero said the atrocities were rendering persons with albinism an endangered group facing a risk of systemic extinction over time if nothing is done.

Amnesty International also released an 80-page report titled We Are Not Animals to be Hunted or Sold: Violence and Discrimination Against People with Albinism in Malawi which detailed how people with albinism are suffering in the country.