Seven people in Malawi have been attacked and burnt to death by a mob after they were found in possession of human bones suspected to be of albino person/s. Only last month, four people in Malawi were convicted for possession of eight human bones also believed to be of an albino person.
Published
9 years agoon
Police in Nsanje district in Malawi have confirmed the death of seven people after they were attacked and burnt by an angry mob for allegedly possessing human bones.
According to Nyasa Times, the police have not made any arrests and there are suspicions the bones could have belonged to albinos.
The incident highlights one of the country’s enduring problems.
Only last month, Malawi convicted four people who were found in possession of eight human bones suspected to be of an albino person. Medical experts in Malawi confirmed the bones as human.
The lives of people living with albinism continues to be threatened. The prevailing attitudes in parts of East Africa perpetrated by some witchdoctors that albino body parts bring power and good luck have been blamed for the increase in attacks on albinos.
Business people and politicians who pay witch doctors for charms and the middlemen who source the body parts have also been blamed for the rise in ritualistic attacks and killings of people with albinism.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNCHR) has published a report on the discrimination and murder of people with albinism. UNCHR officials have been calling for greater protection for these people who are vulnerable and face this form of discrimination.
Source: Nyasa Times
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