Stop Albino Killings Now!

Since I was assigned to be among the contributors of Youth Net and Counseling (YONECO) Blogspot to write more about young people and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) issues, I have never departed from the assigned task.

However, news of people with albinism being abducted, killed and their bodies being exhumed have been disturbing my mind. A week ago, I was very disheartened to hear that 17 persons with albinism have been brutally killed by silent assassins believing that their bones are a source of fortunes and riches.

I came across this sad news during one of the all stakeholders’ conference on albinism that was held at Golden Peacock Hotel in Lilongwe. To add salt on the wound, 79 cases concerning attacks of persons with albinism have been reported in various police stations around the country country.

This is nothing but evil and unjust. Human life is very sacred and it is very sad that we have lowered it to this level. In our republican constitution, everyone human being has the right to life.

When I was young, I once heard that “albinos don’t die but they just disappear to an unknown place” and in our vernacular language “alubino samafa koma amangosowa”. With the current state of affairs pertaining to the rights and welfare of people with albinism, I have been thinking about such beliefs and I realized that persecution of people with albinism started long ago but we did not realize.

I was also part of the team that marched in solidarity with the Association of People Albinism (APAM) and other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) who presented their petition to parliament lobbying the August House to come up with laws that should protect our dear friends from being attacked by the unknown beasts.

Further to this, my eagerness to see the end of this gross human rights violations also compelled me to be part of the team that was in camaraderie with a grouping of Civil Society Organizations trading under the banner of National Advocacy Platform (NAP) who presented a grand petition to the Office of the President and Cabinet on the same and other issues of national importance.

Just recently, one person with albinism has been killed and dismembered in Ntcheu district. This is far from what not what I expected, especially when everyone in the country is speaking against the ungodly thing.

Why are these distressing killings still continuing in this nation which is regarded as a God fearing country and why the perpetrators are getting away with this? These are the most difficult questions that I have failed to answer up to the time I was squiggling this article.

Nonetheless, the answers doesn’t matter to me because I believe that life is sacred, no one has a moral mandate to take the life of others because they believe that they can get fortunes.

I would like to implore the Malawi Government that its resources are spent in sending soldiers to guard Dzalanyama forest reserve and Mulanje mountain the government should also remember to safeguard the lives of our fellow human beings who are living in fear, some of whom are reliable and exemplary famers, hardworking students, entrepreneurs, dedicated teachers, doctors, nurses and lawyers just to mention a few.