APAM feels duped on justice against people with albinism

APAM president Young Mhamba has expressed concern about the slow conclusion of investigations and cases involving people with albinism (By Kondwani Nyondo)

Young Mhamba

Malawi: President of the Association of People with Albinism in Malawi (APAM), Young Mhamba, has expressed concern about the slow conclusion of investigations and cases involving people with albinism.

While praising the decrease in cases of killings, abductions, and attacks on people with albinism, he stated that 205 cases are still pending in court.

He also mentioned the presidential inquiry into the causes and market for albino slaughter, which has not presented its findings since 2019.

According to Mhamba, the lack of investigation into the causes of attacks, which points to the market for the body parts of people with albinism gives PWA a glimmer of concern, which he claims will fall short of government pragmatic solutions to problems confronting people with albinism.

He said: “It shows there is complacency or there is lack of capacity with those mandated to investigate cases of attacks on people with albinism. The 205 cases of attacks, some of which were committed six years ago, have not been concluded to date. The inquiries and investigations do not tell anything that points to the market.”

Former President Peter Mutharika established an eight-member commission of inquiry into the killings and abductions of people with albinism in 2019.

Bishop Joseph Bvumbwe, Grace Massah, Abigail Dzimadzi, Paramount Chief Kawinga, George Jobe, Hilda Soko, and Brenda Vokhiwa Kapenda served on the commission, which was chaired by retired judge Robert Chinangwa.

It was supposed to submit a report to Mutharika on the killing of 24 PWAS, and attacks on more than 160 people since 2014.

Despite the fact that six years have passed, the report has yet to be released.

Principal Disability Programme Officer and Coordinator of national action plan implementation on people with albinism, Joshua Mkwehiwa, emphasised the importance of increasing efforts to care for people with albinism.

According to Mkwehiwa, stakeholders are more concerned with the attacks than with the group's health.

He said: “What is of high importance is coordination with other stakeholders. It is very critical in curbing attacks and improving the welfare of persons with albinism to share information to avoid reciprocating what others are already doing.”

On Saturday, 16 October 2022, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) organised a national advocacy coordination engagement with APAM, the Department of Disability and Elder Affairs, and the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Welfare to share efforts for the effective protection of the rights of people with albinism in the country.