LONDON — Rise in Attacks on Albinos , 18 Murders , 5 Abductions In 19 Months by people seeking their body parts for witchcraft prompted Amnesty International to call yesterday for authorities to do more to punish those responsible – Reuters. Posted on June 8, 2016 by www.newzimbabwevision.com

LONDON — An increase in the number of attacks on people with albinism in Malawi since late 2014 by people seeking their body parts for witchcraft prompted Amnesty International to call yesterday for authorities to do more to punish those responsible.

In Malawi a nation with over 10,000 Albinos, we still find that even though this is the 21st century, Albinos are kept in protected camps for their safety from fellow Africans who are ready to butcher them like Zimbabwe’s machete gangs, South Africa’s xenophobia, East, Central and North African terrorists.
Albinos in Malawi are denied life, denied opportunities and human rights in the so called protected camps, while the world sits and watches quietly.

The world cannot today, celebrate that a few days ago, the Five MALAWI Constitutional Court Judges at Lilongwe High Court
Nullified the 2019 presidential election results and ordered that a re-election must be done in less than 150 days, while the world sits by, ignoring the Albino plight in Malawi.

The Malawi Constitutional court, cited “widespread, systematic and grave” irregularities including significant use of correction fluid among other ‘widespread, systematic and grave’ irregularities to alter the election outcome among other ‘widespread, systematic and grave’ irregularities

The court ordered that a new vote must be held within 150 days, adding that it hoped the ruling would not “destroy the nation”.
Two leading opposition candidates had challenged the narrow election victory of President Peter Mutharika, alleging that irregularities irregularities including significant use of correction fluid to alter the outcome.affected over 1.4 million of the total 5.1 million votes cast.

The vote had placed Peter Mutharikwa a second term but this sparked widespread protests across Malawi.

To the Discerning eye www.newzimbabwevision.com, this is a window of blessing as Malawi is under Global focus and the First world can use this to pressure the winner to address the Albino plight or simply trigger a dysfunctional system bound to collapse the poor governance in place, by with holding international funding unless and until Albinos are not only protected by the constitution but by the government and the people together.

There must be both political will and financial support to put in place strong measures to protect Albinos, afford them equal access to all opportunities including education, housing, healthcare and all human rights, including making up for lost opportunities all along where Albinos were openly marginalised in Malawi. Only a leader who is willing to fight for the Albinos and equality for all should win the peoples vote. Education and Information dissemination through newspapers, books, schools, churhes, sports, community based groups, local grassroots organisations and leaders, MPs, tvs, social media and global focus on this matter can swiftly enforce lasting change.

We have all seen the dangers of lawlessness across Africa, case in point, the murderous machete gamgs in Zimbabwe, Xenophobia in South Africa, terrorism in Central, East and Northern Africa and now these ongoing horrors against Albinos in South Africa. Wake up from the mountain mentality of Africa as it seems the natives came down from the mountains,..DISCUSS and Share please!  In
Posted on June 8, 2016 by www.newzimbabwevision.com Sibusiso Ngwenya

The human rights group said April was the bloodiest month for attacks on albinos in the southern African nation, with four people murdered including a child aged under two. The child’s father and four others have been arrested.

In the past 19 months authorities in Malawi have recorded the murders of 18 albinos and abduction of five others although Amnesty fears the real number is likely to be higher as many attacks in secretive rituals in rural areas are never reported. The body parts of albinos — who lack pigment in their skin, hair and eyes — are believed to bring wealth and good luck and are prized in witchcraft for use in charms and magical potions.

“The unprecedented wave of brutal attacks against people with albinism has created a climate of terror for this vulnerable group and their families,” Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s director for southern Africa, said in a statement.

Senior government officials, including President Peter Mutharika, have publicly condemned the attacks and announced several measures, including the appointment of a legal counsel to assist with investigations, and a national response plan.

“However, these measures have failed to stop the violence,” Amnesty said in its report published on Tuesday.

“Some perpetrators have been arrested, charged and convicted, but the majority of crimes remain unresolved. Charges and penalties often have not been commensurate with the gravity of the crimes, creating a sense of impunity,” the report said.

At least 69 crimes against people with albinism have been documented in Malawi since November 2014, according to police reports.

Amnesty did not have figures for the number of attacks prior to November 2014, but campaigners, police authorities, families and community leaders all said the number of attacks had risen.

It is unclear what has triggered the surge, but mass unemployment and drought could be part of the reason, Simeon Mawanza, lead researcher of the Amnesty report, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

There is no systematic documentation of crimes against people with albinism in Malawi, where people with albinism number around 10 000 out of a population of around 16.5 million.

People with albinism face discrimination and threats, both at school and in their communities. Myths about albinism abound, including the belief that having sex with an albino is a cure for HIV.

“The images that you see, where they hack off their hands, their feet, it’s so difficult to understand what goes on in such a mind to commit such a heinous crime against an innocent human being, merely because they look different,” Mawanza said. He added that children have been sold by their parents, and some of the attackers were close family members — Reuters. Posted on June 8, 2016 by www.newzimbabwevision.com