By Erwan Jourand
Lilongwe - Almost a decade after their former president Kamuzu Banda lost power, Malawians are still terrified by rumours of government-sponsored vampires that circulated under his brutal reign and have held the popular imagination ever since.
Many Malawians, especially in the country's rural south, believe in reports that teams of "blood suckers" are murdering poor people on a nightly basis, draining their blood and selling it to international aid agencies in return for food.
Vague in all but the nastiest details, the fantastical stories have become so widespread that the Central African Presbyterian Church has called for an independent commission to investigate the allegations.
"We would like to recommend the immediate creation of an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the allegations of blood-sucking," the church said in a statement.
Last month a member of the ruling United Democratic Front was accused of harbouring the vampires and was beaten by the residents of a small town near Blantyre. After the incident, government spokesperson Robert Ngaiyaye was forced to issue a statement declaring there was "no evidence that there are blood-suckers".
President Muluzi has accused unnamed opposition politicians of exploiting the rumours with the aim of bringing down his government, vowing that anyone caught spreading rumours would be arrested. - Sapa-AFP