Development

Police embrace inclusion

Malawi Police Service has surmounted an era of systemic discrimination to incorporate persons with albinism in its ranks, writes our Contributor HOWARD MLOZI.

When the killings of persons with albinism in Malawi reached a despicable high, Vasco Hamid felt hunted like game.

“I was traumatised. It was terrifying to always wake up to devastating news of gruesome murders of persons with disability. I felt like Malawi was not my home and blamed God for creating me this way,” he narrates.

Hamid felt frightened even walking in the daylight. The climate of fear thickened after sunset.

“There was a time I felt that I should just move and lodge at a police station for protection,” he states.

Official figures show that over 170 people with albinism have been killed or maimed since 2014.

Apart from the notorious attacks, persons with albinism and other disabilities also face discrimination in their communities and at work.

“We lost confidence because we felt discriminated in all fronts. Some employers could just dismiss you based on your skin colour,” Hamid laments.

Even the police service seemed to offer little or no solace to persons under attack, with most cases taking too long in courts, including one in which a police officer has been jailed for being found in possession of bones of McDonald Masambuka, a boy with albinism murdered in Machinga.

However, efforts are underway to entrench and promote disability rights in law enforcement.

On August 26 2022, the police service unveiled 1615 recruits from Mtakataka, Limbe and Mlangeni police training colleges. The squad’s passing out parade included two persons with albinism: Hamid and Brenda Mhlanga.

Minister of Homeland Security Jean Sendeza described the cohort of 680 women and 935 men as a milestone as this is the first time in the history of the police service to recruit persons with disability.

She considers it a turning point in entrenching disability rights in the police service.

Sendeza explains: “We are happy that the ministry has taken a bold step towards mainstreaming issues of disability in the workplace.

“The recruitment of the persons with albinism is one of the indicators of this commitment. And we are geared to include more people with disability to achieve equal access to employment in the service.”

She warned against discriminatory tendencies that disadvantage persons with disability at work and in homes, saying this pushes them into poverty and insecurity.

Sendeza underscored the importance of equity and inclusion in line with the National Disability Mainstreaming Strategy and Implementation Plan that dials up the rights, opportunities and wellbeing of persons with disability.

Inspector General (IG) of Police Merlyn Yolamu said the police system has no place for systemic and structural disparities between individuals or groups. She stated that the police service is designed to make everyone feel a part of the organisation and its processes.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities requires governments to adopt inclusive laws and policies to safeguard equity and inclusion of persons with disabilities and vulnerable populations in public life.

During the police pass-out parade, Young Achievers for Development (YAD) presented Awards of Braverly to Hamid and Mhlanga for being the country’s first young people living with albinism to become police officers. The youth organisation presented 12 awards on the occasion held at Kanjedza Police Training College in Blantyre.

YAD executive director Jefferson Milanzi said: “We are delighted to present the braverly awards to the two because they have broken a record and set the pace that all things are possible.

“They believed in the beauty of their dreams regardless of their physical challenges.”

Hamid said he was grateful to the police service for entrenching disability rights in its recruitment and operation processes.

“Our recruitment in the service has increased the confidence of Malawians with albinism. We now feel counted and part of the national development because our rights are being recognised. This was not the case before,” he said.

Ian Desmond Simbota, advocate for albinism rights, said persons with disabilities in the country are disproportionately underrepresented on the development agenda.

He states: “ The inclusion of persons with disability in the police service is a welcome idea because we cannot talk of progress on Sustainable Development Goals if certain groups of people are left out in the national development agenda.

“This has sent a strong message to the nation that issues of disability need to be treated with seriousness by all sectors of development.”

Simbota said persons with disability have to enjoy their rights to the fullest, including economic and job opportunities as well as participation in public life.

The 2018 Census shows that Malawi plays home to 134 000 persons with albinism.

“Recognising our rights is key to achieving an equal and just society,” Simbota states.

This is in line with recommendations by activists and the national task force on albinism rights that the visibility of persons with albinism in key sectors will help end discriminatory tendencies, including ritual attacks.

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