Police irk communities on albinos
Police on Monday irked people of Kande, Nkhata Bay when they said they have failed to get answers from suspects in the murder of Yasin Kwenda Phiri, a person with albinism, who was brutally murdered in his home on New Year’s Eve.
Meanwhile, police have intensified investigations at Chitimba in Rumphi, where some people attempted to abduct a two-year-old girl with albinism around 11pm on Monday night.
During a meeting which the Mdauku Wa Atonga (Mwato) organised on Monday, Kande communities asked the police for updates after seven people were arrested in connection with Phiri’s murder, but police said “we have failed”.
In reaction, the people booed at Chintheche Police station officer Hamilton Chinthochi who delivered the message, and left the meeting in anger.
Specifically, people wanted to know whether the suspects had provided links to the markets for the body parts.
But Chinthochi said: “Mwina akazalowa ntchito ya upolisiyi ana anu, atha kuzawafunsa m’njira ina. Ife tayesetsa, koma sitikupeza yankho [Maybe when your children become officers they will interrogate them differently, but we have tried and we haven’t yielded anything].”
On his part, Mwato deputy chairperson Reverend Mezuwa Banda said it was shocking that the police were not helping on the matter.
During the meeting, Traditional Authority (T/A) Timbiri advocated for death penalty for all those found guilty of albino atrocities, saying life imprisonment will not end the vice.
Meanwhile, National Police spokesperson James Kadadzera says police have intensified investigations at Chitimba in Rumphi where some people attempted to abduct a 22-month-old girl with albinism around 11pm on Monday.
The Association of Persons with Albinism in Malawi plans to hold a three-day vigil from March 6 to 8 2019 at Kamuzu Place to express their displeasure with continued attacks of its members.
