Protection urged for albinos in Malawi after brutal child killing

The Association for Persons with Albinism in Malawi (APAM) has urged protection for the "over 10,000 albinos" in Malawi, after a child with albinism was brutally killed.

During a press briefing in the capital Lilongwe, APAM President, Boniface Massa, appealed for the intervention of the international community, in particular the African Union and regional bloc Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The call followed the abduction and brutal killing of a nine-year-old boy with albinism recently in the country's eastern border district of Machinga.

A gang of unidentified men last Friday stormed his home when the boy and his mother were sleeping, abducting the boy and injuring his mother.

The head of the boy was found five days later some 20 km away from the village where he was abducted.

"The killing of people with albinism is now becoming not only a national disaster but a regional disaster because it is in Tanzania, Mozambique, and beyond," said Massa.

According to Massa, between December 2014 and March 2016, his association recorded over 50 attacks on albinos in Malawi, causing 11 deaths, more than a half of them women and children.

He said the killings persisted after President Peter Mutharika vowed to protect people with albinism in the country.

"Although there is political will, this is not being translated into action: the government has not fully financed the task force till this day leading to a lapse in its implementation and operations," he said.

The association has urged the government to take administrative and legislative measures to tackle the problem.

Abduction and killing of albinos as well as exhumation of remains of dead people with albinism have been reported in some African countries like Malawi and neighbouring Tanzania.

It is not clear why the perpetrators want the body parts of people with albinism, but many believe they use them for rituals.

Early in the week, seven men were burnt alive by an angry mob in Malawi's border district of Nsanje after they were found in possession of what people suspected to be bones of albinos. Endit