No market for albino body parts, Malawi govt study concludes

Malawi government has said research has concluded that there is no market for bones and other body parts of persons with albinism.

Principal secretary for Gender, Social Welfare and Disability ministry, Dr Mary Shaba told a news conference that those who kill persons with albinism just have illusionary markets.

“We had two case studies. The Dedza killing where some two men took a person with albinism to Mozambique, walking 150 kilometres, killed him and could not find a market for his body parts.

“The traditional healer told the men the buyer was coming from Mozambique, after days he told them they buyers were coming from Middle East and when the body parts started decomposing, the traditional healer run away,” said Shaba.

She started after the traditional healer run away, the men returned to Malawi and their dreams of living in a wealth world shattered and the police arrested them and are now languishing in jail.

Shaba also gave an example of the Ntcheu killing of 34 year old Fletcher Masina.

“The killers had no ready market this is why when they killed Mr Masina, they started calling everybody to buy the body parts. This is how they called the army officer who arranged with the police to arrest them,” she said.

The principal secretary said even traditional leaders told the government sponsored researchers that traditional healers use plant leaves and roots not body parts.

The High Court has since ordered the ban of advertisement of traditional healers in both print and electronic media.

At least 18 persons with albinism have been killed since the wave of the abductions and killings started in 2015 and affected 75 more.