Malawi Police arrest nephew over albino threats

Owen Khamula -Nyasa Times

Malawi  Police in Dedza have arrested a 37 year old nephew to a person with albinism after he demanded the person in exchange for a missing bicycle.

Dedza police station assistant spokesperson Cassim Manda confirmed on Thursday that the law enforcers have in their custody Raphael Meketoni who had gone to his sister’s house demanding that he be given back a bicycle which went missing in 2012 or she surrenders one of her two children who are people with albinism.

“After this, she immediately reported the matter to the police in her area and the police swiftly acted on the matter by arresting the suspect because we did not know his intentions,” said Manda.

This comes barely a day after a person with albinism Fletcher Masina, 38, at his garden in Ntcheu.

Manda said Meketoni has since been charged with attempting to sell a human being but the case would be reviewed after all the details have been established.

“The facts are that the suspect had his bicycle missing in 2012 and he has been demanding the bicycle from his brother Tseketseni Meketoni and his sister Odetta Meketoni. On this particular day, he demanded one of the children of his sister, Odetta, in replacement of the bicycle and she sensed something fishy and immediately reported the matter to police,” said Manda.

Manda expressed concern that there are rising cases of such incidents in the district, saying there are pending three cases so far on abuse, abductions and killings of people with albinism.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Duncan Mwapasa said the police has discovered that market for the body parts of people with albinism are not in Mozambique as earlier thought but here in Malawi.

One albino body part can fetch as high as K1.4 million, be it a limb or tongue whilst the whole set of body parts which include private parts, arms and legs can cost as much as K50 million according to sources.

“We will bust this syndicate very soon. No one has never been rich because of this illegal trade,” said Mwapasa.

Chairperson of Citizen Alliance Edward Chileka Banda described situation on the recent spate of killings of people with albinism as a crisis.

President Peter Mutharika initiated National Technical Committee o Abuses of People with Albinism chairman Hetherwick Ntaba said the government would deal with the situation, no matter how long it might take.

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