MP Kalindo leads  ‘half-naked’ protest against albino attacks in Malawi

Mulanje South member of Parliament (MP) Bon Kalindo (Democratic Progressive Party-DPP),  on Thursday staged a ‘half-naked’ protest  in the capital Lilongwe against the abductions and killings of people with albinism.

Kalindo, who is leading a movement planning to demonstrate in favour of concrete action against perpetrators of attacks on people with albinism, had initially planned the ‘naked’ march  but on Thursday did not expose his privates, opting to put on a small short, a vest with his big belly out , scarf, head gear all in red colour.

In Malawi, 19 people with albinism have been killed since 2014.

Besides the 19 people with albinism killed, Malawi has also recorded more than 65 cases of albino abductions since 2014.

Kalindo, a renowned comedian himself known as ‘Winiko’,  presenting a petition to parliament said a death sentence should be applied for albino killers.

He claimed some politicians are behind  criminals involved in a syndicate that is hunting for albino body parts in Malawi, including the use of parents and relatives to catch their prey.

Although the Constitution provides for a death penalty, all presidents in democratic Malawi have declined to sign execution orders for those on death row.

The MP said President Peter Mutharika  should  sign the execution orders for albino killers.

President Mutharika has on many occasions admitted feeling ashamed by the attacks on people with albinism but said he would not introduce death penalty specifically for albino issues as it already exists in the country’s penal code.

UN’s  envoy Ikponwosa Ero says “Addressing root causes of attacks, inparticular why they are happening, is indispensable to eradicating them.”

Meanwhile,  Kalindo has disowned an open letter purported to have been authored by him to President Peter Mutharika, Cabinet ministers and governing DPP accusing the ruling elite of enriching themselves while failing to provide security for people with albinism.

Kalindo, who is also DPP deputy spokesperson, said the document was authored by his haters.