Mulanje MP calls for death bill
Mulanje South Member of Parliament Elias Bon Kalindo (Democratic Progressive Party–DPP) on Friday dramatically epitomised the anger felt by most parliamentarians against criminals who are killing people with albinism.
He threatened that he will walk out of the Chamber if a bill to retain the controversial death sentence will not be brought in the House to target such murderers.
His speech turned out to be the liveliest contribution to the Budget Statement motion on President Peter Mutharika’s State-of-the-Nation (Sona) address and the opening of the Budget Session in the National Assembly on Friday.
Kalindo, a renowned comedian himself known as ‘Winiko’, saluted Malawians for having given fellow fallen thespian John ‘Izeki’ Nyanga a historic funeral in Blantyre on Tuesday.
“If the death penalty is not coming up (for debate and passing in the House) tomorrow, I will walk out of this place because it … will tell that we are all abductors and killers of albinos by keeping quiet,” he declared, attracting a hand-clapping and cheering din.
Kalindo fumed further: “This is no time for holding meetings; no time to form associations. It is time to act!
“Our friends (the albinos) are dying like chickens, and yet we are here drinking tea when they are suffering? It is time we retained the death sentence whether we like it or not. Albinos should live safely in Malawi; otherwise, I will not tolerate any nonsense.”
He threatened that many people would support his walking out of Parliament, adding that the subsequent pro-death sentence movement would be massive and daunting.
On Nyanga’s death, Kalindo noted that the funeral was graced by people from all walks of life.
“Our friend was given a befitting send-off—what we can describe now as almost a State funeral, even if the guns were not there,” he noted, and sent most Members into stitches.
In a lively afternoon session, several other MPs spoke on the need to track down and severely punish those perpetrating gruesome killings and abductions against people with albinism. n
It is this kind of rhetoric driven by emotions or politics that can mess up our judicial system………..
We need our laws to be consistent, laws that can be easily be interpreted by our courts…….
If you want a death penalty for murderers then that penalty should not be selective, it should apply to all first degree murders regardless of whether the victim is an albino or not……we are all humans after all.