Minister decries rising cases of elderly abuse
Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare Jean Sendeza has bemoaned rising cases of violence against the elderly, saying government has formulated the Elderly Persons Bill to address the vice.
Speaking in Lilongwe yesterday when she presided over the World Elder Abuse Awarenesses Day, the minister said between January and June this year, 10 elderly people have been killed on allegations of witchcraft, compared to seven during the same period last year.
Sendeza said government hopes that once the Elderly Persons Bill is passed into law, it will help eliminate the vice.
She said: “One violent act against the elderly is one too many. I am sure that this Bill is going to be tabled in Parliament this coming July when the august House reconvenes. These acts are happening both in urban and rural areas where the elderly are mostly being accused of witchcraft.”
The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day falls on June 15, but Malawi opted to observe it on June 29 this year.
In his remarks, Malawi Network of Elderly People Organisations (Manepo) executive director Andrew Kavala said the past six months, registered 48 cases of abuse of elderly.
He said he was hopeful that the new law would help improve the situation.
Said Kavala: “The 1911 Witchcraft Act which is currently in use is very outdated and trust you me, without even emptying the contents of the Bill, the moment it gets passed into law these acts of violence are going to end.”
He further bemoaned the delays in concluding most of the cases related to violence against the elderly, saying those concluded are only minor ones.
He cited the case of a Mzimba-based elderly woman who was beaten and thrown in a grave on accusation that she was a witch.
According to Kavala, the case is yet to be concluded despite a video clip that circulated showing who hit the woman.
He explained that most cases involving violence against the elderly are not documented save for the ones which have led to death, adding that all the 10 recorded deaths this year have occurred in rural areas.
Kavala believes that the rampant violence cases occur because people always look for someone they can blame for their social problems, and elderly people become easy targets.
He has since urged government agencies and the judicial system to prioritise cases of elderly abuse and mete out stiffer punishments to offenders so as to deter others.
The Witchcraft Act of 1911 assumes that witchcraft does not exist in Malawi and makes it an offence to accuse someone of being a witch or wizard.
However, a Special Law Commission that was instituted to look into the matter of witchcraft in 2011 found that “there is witchcraft or, at least, a belief in witchcraft” among Malawians.
Activists have been pushing for the criminalisation of witchcraft in the country, however, according to the Special Law Commission, there will be a need to critically look at how to amass evidence about the practice for it borders on superstition and supernatural acts.
