Catholic Church condemns violence against the elderly
Bishop Martin Mtumbuka of Karonga Diocese of the Catholic Church has condemned violence against the elderly in the country and has called for their protection.
He made the call at Limbe Cathedral on Saturday during a national conference for the Catholic youths organised by Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM). He urged the youth to be in the forefront in protecting the elderly against all forms of abuse.
Mtumbuka said attacks on the elderly were worrisome and disappointing, noting that in most cases the elderly suffer from accusations of witchcraft which he described as baseless.
“As Catholic Church, we cannot tolerate killing of old people out of these beliefs,” he said, assuring the elderly that the Catholic Church is committed to protecting them against attacks and other forms of abuse.
Mtumbuka said that in Karonga the church intends to train scouts as paralegals so that they can guide the victims on issues to do with the law.
“Some of these people suffer in silence because they don’t know where to begin from to legally defend themselves. We will leave no stone unturned on this,” he said.
Malawi Network of Elderly Persons’ Organisations (Manepo) executive director Andrew Kavala commended the Catholic Church for the continued support in the fight against on elderly persons.
“Our bishops are leading us well in caring for the elderly. As Manepo, we will walk with them everywhere,” he said. “Our study has shown that young people between the ages of 17 and 35 are the ones leading in abusing the elderly.”
Kavala, therefore, called on young people to take part in protecting the elderly from all forms of abuses, saying that ageing is a process of life that every person should understand.
Despite numerous efforts to deal with the vice, Malawi continues recording cases of assault of older persons, mostly on accusations of practising witchcraft.
According to reports from Manepo, in 2022, 15 elderly people were killed in the country on abuse, discrimination and accusations of witchcraft while in 2023 the country recorded 25 deaths and from January 2024 over 13 cases of deaths of the elderly have been recorded.
