Lilongwe: The Malawian authorities must urgently overhaul the criminal justice system to protect people with albinism, who face the persistent threat of being killed for their body parts in a country where the vast majority of these horrific crimes remain unresolved and unpunished, Amnesty International said.
Since November 2014, the number of reported crimes against people with albinism in Malawi has risen to 148 cases, including 14 murders and seven attempted murders, according to police figures. However, Amnesty International has established that at least 21 people with albinism have been killed since 2014.
“People with albinism deserve to see justice for these vile, hateful crimes against them. That it takes so long for cases to be investigated or heard in court is a sobering indictment of the systematic failures in Malawi’s criminal justice system,” said Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for Southern Africa.
“The authorities must end impunity for these crimes immediately. As a first step, they must ensure all pending cases are dealt with without undue delay, and in line with international standards of fairness.”
In its new briefing, “End violence against people with albinism: Towards effective criminal justice for people with albinism in Malawi”, Amnesty International has found that people with albinism face long delays in getting justice.
The rate at which their cases are concluded is slow compared to other criminal investigations. Only 30 percent of the 148 reported cases against people with albinism have been concluded, according to the latest sstatistics from the Malawi Police Service and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. To date only one murder and one attempted murder cases have been successfully prosecuted.
Even the police have raised concerns with Amnesty International about delays in concluding trials due to the limited number of senior magistrates qualified to deal with cases relating to people with albinism.
In its 2016 report, Amnesty International found that attacks against people with albinism are fuelled by stereotypical beliefs that their body parts bring wealth and good luck.
Background
Since November 2014, an unprecedented wave of killings and other human rights abuses including abductions and robberies against people with albinism has swept through Malawi. Similar attacks have occurred in neighbouring countries such as Mozambique, Tanzania and South Africa.
People with albinism are targeted for their body parts in the belief that they contain magical powers. The current population of people with albinism in Malawi is estimated at between 7,000 and 10,000, representing a ratio of 1 in every 1,800 persons.
