Blantyre - The Malawian government is handing out some 1,600
personal security alarms to its albino citizens, in an attempt to
stop deadly attacks on the community.
"The gadgets will be distributed to persons with albinism in all the
regions in Malawi," Cecilia Chazama, minister for Gender, Children
and Disability, said Friday.
Albinos are targeted in Malawi and some other African countries
because of the superstitious belief that their body parts are magic
and can make people rich.
Francis Masambuka, an albino activist, welcomed the project but
stressed it wasn't a cure-all solution to attacks on people with the
condition - which causes lack of skin pigmentation.
"The gadgets are connected to the network of nearest police
stations...and once a person with albinism is under threat, they can
press it and the police can rush to the scene," he said.
Some 24 people with albinism have been killed and 160 attacks
reported to police since 2014, according to figures from the
Association of Persons with Albinism in Malawi.
The emergency buttons - which will be distributed Saturday - are
being introduced amid continued attacks. Since December, one man has
been reported killed and two children abducted.
Despite the Malawian government's promise to tackle the problem,
rights groups have complained that few suspected of crimes against
albinos are successfully prosecuted.
However, on Friday a Malawi court sentenced a man found guilty of
murdering an albino to death. The death penalty has not been carried
out in Malawi for years, usually meaning life imprisonment instead.
Willard Mikaele, a 28-year-old barber from Thyol district, was found
guilty of strangling to death 19-year-old Mphatso Pensulo. He said he
had been advised by a witchdoctor to kill a person with albinism if
he wanted to get rich.
"The motive behind the killing was as devilish as it is primitive. I
want to agree with the state that death sentence is appropriate as it
reflects a sense of justice in the circumstances," said Justice
Maclean Kamwambe.