Chimwendo Banda challenges MPs, police IG, stakeholders to end violence on people living with albinism

Minister for Homeland Security Richard Chimwendo Banda on Tuesday held a 5-hour meeting with Malawi Human Rights Commission, top management officers of the Malawi Police Service — including the Inspector General and other stakeholders to come up with stringent measures that should put to an end once and for all the killings of people living with albinism in the country.

At the meeting — which also had the Association of People Living with Albinism (APAM) in attendance — Chimwendo Banda requested the IG George Kainja that any death of the person living with albinism shall not be accepted in President Lazarus Chakwera’s regime.

The Minister said there is a high level commitment from President Chakwera to see to it that people living with albinism are freed from heartless killings and harassment.

Chimwendo Banda, who is popularly known as the ‘Bulldozer’ in the political sphere, said all stakeholders to take the matter seriously and that they should join hands in setting standards on protecting people living with albinism.

“It is in the heart of President Chakwera to end killings against people living with albinism,” he said. “We want to end each and every year without hearing any reports of such deaths.

“We need people who can be looking at these issues serious in order to have perpetrators be answerable to these crimes.

“I am not here for fame, but I am here to set standards. Let’s continue meeting to properly review our work. I assure you all our stakeholders that Chakwera’s government is your best partner in the fight against killings of people with albinism.”

On his part, IG Kainja told the Minister that his administration has outlined a number of fresh activities to be implemented in line with the National Action Plan against abduction and killings of people living with albinism.

Senior police officers who attended the meeting, among others, said some of the fresh activities that will be undertaken for the next three years include training people from community policing structures so that they should be equipped with relevant skills on how to protect and respond to attacks of people living with albinism.

They made the assurance that they they will have continued public engagements on safety and security of persons living with albinism and train police officers from lower police formations on prevention and responding to such attacks.

In his remarks, Apam president Ian Simbota told the Minister that the association is happy with the fresh responsive activities which the Malawi Police has outlined in ensuring that vulnerable people living with albinism are protected from killings.

Up to now, it has not yet been established where markets for body parts of people living with albinism victims are despite the commission of inquiry that former President Peter Mutharika instituted to investigate circumstances that lead to their abductions and killings.

Despite receiving hefty funding under the National Action Plan initiative, the commission of inquiry flopped to meet expectations of Malawians and no report was ever reported to have been presented to Mutharika.

Meanwhile, President Chakwera promised Malawians that once he ascended to the high office of presidency, he would strive to end the brutal killings which was recorded at a total of 194 cases between 2013 to 2019.

Before Chakwera rose to power, there were 18 cases in 2019 alone alone but since been sworn in the cases significantly reduced from 18 to 4, representing about 75% reduction rate.

This year, the country recorded one case on killing of a person with albinism identified as Ian Muhama but Chimwendo Banda said this is still worrying Chakwera’s government — hence the challenge given to the Malawi Police.

The activities which the Malawi Police Service and its stakeholders will be implementing shall complement government’s effort to constructs houses for people living with albinism.

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