Recurrent attacks on the elderly suspected of witchcraft in Malawi keep haunting senior citizens.
The country’s laws classify anyone above 65 as elderly persons, a generation most vulnerable to discriminatory attacks and mob justice amid widespread superstitions.
Every year, the local press reports dozens of vile assaults on the elderly citizens suspected of being witches and wizards.
Harriet Mafaiti, 70, from Chemusa Township in Blantyre, says the wave has a chilling effect.
“I’m rarely seen in the company of young people,” she says. “Every time tragedy strikes my community, fingers point at me as the witch behind their misfortune.”
Mafaiti is frustrated that her youthful neighbours sometimes chant insults around her home.
She laments: “Imagine I was once forced to admit bewitching a young lady to miscarry. I was beaten. I wept. I was frightened by these accusations. I repeatedly told them I’m not a witch, but they couldn’t leave me.”
Mafaiti’s life turned sour in 1993 when her husband died.
“Following the breadwinner’s death, my children migrated to other cities and South Africa, leaving me alone. Then people started calling me a fierce witch,” she narrates.
Mafaiti finds solace in heart-to-heart discussions held by an association for the elderly in his clustered township.
Members meet in circles to discuss their shared agonies and brainstorm solutions, including access to psycho-social counselling.
“Hanging out with my fellow elderly people gives me a huge relief as we treat each other and our secrets with the respect we deserve,” she says.
Mafaiti urges other elders to form or join such groups, where they can discuss everyday circumstances and get a listening ear when it matters most.
Recently, Christina Chiwoko, 56, from Mwanza Village, Traditional Authority Chiwere in Dowa District, was buried alive on allegations that she had bewitched her relative who died after a short illness.
A video of the chilling mob attack went viral on social media.
A mob in Chiringa, Senior Chief Nazombe in Phalombe District, also murdered Maggie Nyengani, 72, on similar accusations.
Wycliffe Masso, from Malawi Human Rights Commission, calls on Malawians to protect the lives and rights of the elderly.
“The elderly are people like any other,” he says. “They deserve to enjoy their rights, so those violating their rights should be brought to justice.”
In April, Parliament passed the Older Persons Bill to safeguard the rights of the senior citizens traditionally considered calabashes of wisdom and custodians of culture.
The strangely despised generation proved handy at the turn of the millennium when the height of Aids-related deaths reduced Malawi to a nation in perpetual mourning, with funerals and coffin workshops.
Just then, the old and frail stepped up to raise orphans of their deceased children, as they continue to do today with emerging pandemics and youth migration to cities and towns, even abroad.
The new law provides for monthly financial assistance to ease the plight of the elderly who can no longer work or afford medical bills for chronic illnesses.
“The pension symbolises the government’s commitment to protecting the well-being and rights of elderly persons,” said Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare Jean Sendeza.
However, Malawi Network of Older Persons’ Organisations (Manepo) executive director Andrew Kavala said the law reaffirms the undeniable worth of older persons in society and sets the tone for inclusive governance.
Manepo calls for concerted efforts to eradicate deep-rooted myths and stereotypes.
“As we celebrate the passing of the Older Persons Bill, we urge all Malawians to unite in protecting, promoting and safeguarding the rights of older persons to live a dignified, secure, active and healthy life,” said Kavala.
Blantyre Elderly People Movement secretary-general Ignatius David Mpaha asks authorities to make the law work.
“There is no time to waste as we face numerous challenges due to old age, poverty and chronic illnesses, which make us dependent and vulnerable,” he says.
Kavala says protecting the elderly is a collective responsibility.
He calls for stiffer penalties against those who torture and murder elderly persons.
Police recorded 70 criminal attacks on the elderly since January, with 10 brutally murdered and 60 injured.
The figures show that 15 were killed in 2020 and 46 others in 2019.
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You make an interesting point about the offset in birth years for different generations I suspect as far as our matches go that it’s offset by genetically equivalent removed relationships For example, we might not overlap lifespans with all of our 10C, but that category also includes 9C2R, 8C4R, etc