Malawian man sent to jail for calling person with albinism ‘living cash’

The Senior Resident Magistrate Court sitting at Ntaja on Wednesday sentenced Ngunga Sitande because he was laughing when one of his two friends, who are still at large, called Innocent Simba of 28 years of age, “money”.

A 39-year-old man in Machinga district, south-eastern Malawi has been given a three months jail term with hard labor as a punishment for laughing when his friend referred to a person born with albinism as “ money”.

State Prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent Josephine Chigawa told the court that the three were passing by the house of the victim,  Innocent Simba, when one of them referred to Simba as “mbiya” a Yao word meaning money “and they all started laughing.”

“This annoyed the victim who reported the matter to Community Policing members who in turn took the matter to the village head who later referred to Ntaja Police who arrested the convict,” she said.

Chigawa told the court that a person cannot be money in any way and thereafter pleaded with the court for a stiffer sentence so that it should be a lesson to him and would be offenders.

In his mitigation, Sitande asked for leniency saying he has a family to look after.

Passing judgment, Senior Resident Wyson Nkhata  said he would wish if the convict was given even 7 years imprisonment with hard labour “considering what our brothers and sisters born with albinism are going through”  but he said his hands were tied as the maximum sentence for the offence of conduct likely to cause breach of peace  is three months imprisonment with hard labor.

Ngunga Sitande comes from Muwonjeza village, in the area of Senior Chief Kawinga in Machinga district.

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