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Lilongwe — Malawian President Peter Mutharika has expressed concern over the continued attacks on albinos in his country, adding that he feels “ashamed” by the killings.
He said he felt shame when considering the plague of albino attacks that are ravaging his country.
Speaking during an interview with BBC, Mutharika said he felt “terrible” about the increased level of albino attacks in Malawi.
He urged the church to raise the alarm about the scourge.
While saying that he had not rejected the notion of increasing prison sentences for those found guilty of orchestrating attacks on albino nationals, Mutharika said there was no need to introduce a separate death penalty for the crime as it already existed for those found guilty of homicide.
Fuelled by a belief that albino body parts brought wealth, attacks on albinos has increased in recent times, leading to the deaths of at least 17 albino nationals in the last two years.
Mutharika slammed the belief among some Malawian residents, describing the superstition as foolish and ignorant.
“The people who are telling people that it makes people rich aren’t even rich. They’re wearing rags. How can a person like this make your rich if he himself can’t make himself rich?” he said.
Malawi recently sent officials to neighbouring Tanzania in a bid to gain knowledge on how to deal with the attacks. — AFP
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