Shoot albino abductors, Malawi Police chief orders: UN warns situation is ‘acute’
Malawi has ordered police to shoot “dangerous criminals” who attack albinos in order to sell their body parts for witchcraft.
“Shoot every criminal who is violent when caught red-handed abducting people with albinism,” the country’s police chief Lexen Kachama told officers at the weekend, according to local media.
Six albinos have been killed in the poor southern African nation since December, according to the Association of Persons with Albinism in Malawi.
Kachama told officers in Machinga district in the south of the country, where most of the attacks have happened, that we cannot just watch while our friends with albinism are being killed like animals every day.”
He said he does not want to “hear of a police officer chasing dangerous criminals especially those abducting albinos carrying teargas or any other soft weapon.
“That is why I am ordering the police to use weapons in proportion to the gravity of the offence. We need to be secure from criminals,” he added.
Kachama, appointed last month by President Peter Mutharika, ordered his ill-equipped force of 12,000 not to be afraid to use “live ammunition” after criminals shot a police officer in the commercial capital Blantyre last week.
“We will not put down or hold back our weapons until Malawians are living and doing their business freely,” he said.
He said police were empowered by law “to use any weapon when discharging our duties.”
Albinos have been the victim of a surge of attacks across Africa in recent months, with the UN warning the situation was particularly acute in Tanzania, Burundi and Malawi.
It said the spike in violence against them in Tanzania may be linked to general and presidential elections in October 2015, as political campaigners attempt to win over influential sorcerers.
The UN Human Rights Council last month decided to appoint an expert to investigate abuses suffered by albinos across east Africa.-AFP
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Malawi….aah.i stil cant understand y pipo feel the need to do al tht witchcraft shit.wtf.God help us.
Hard criminals are in our prisons terrorizing fellow prisoners. They are at home there and feel they can not be called to account for what they do inside the prison walls. Some warders aid them in their heinous actions. Many weak newcomers are sexually abused with the full knowledge of warders yet prison is to reform character. Please investigate this and the authorities take appropriate action against such people. Otherwise shoot the hardened criminals there other than eating our taxes committing crimes everyday In prisons. Drag them to court or give them special treatment the kamuzu style.
tiphe zimenezi.akusowetsa mtendere abale athu
shot them pliz eish!!!!!
Many people have been arrested as abductor but the whole police failing to task the abductors to tell them who asked them to get the albinos and where were they supposed to sale. You arrest, you rush to court when you know the courts do not investigate. In the past during Kamuzu era we used to believe that once one has been arrested by the police then the whole network has been exposed. Many have been arrested red handed with body parts but our police just rush to courts without trying to task arrested to lead them to the market.… Read more »
Dont put the constution in the hands of police men there also dangeras criminals you must think twice befor odering them.
Let the police do what they want. Here at Kande one of the albino was rescued by someone who was on a bicycle.
Big-up Kachama!!!!!!
Police are 2 corrupt also.
please, be serious on death issues. these dangerous criminals need to dealt accordingly. If you do not know them , one they will attack you at your house will agree that the only way deal with them is shoot to kill.