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Lilongwe — President Peter Mutharika has insisted that he will not institute the death penalty against those found guilty of murders perpetrated on citizens living with albinism in Malawi.
According to Malawi24, Mutharika said that government would ensure that life sentences were handed down to those guilty of crimes against albino nationals in the southern African nation.
Despite mounting pressure for the re-introduction of the death sentence against so-called “albino hunters”, the Democratic Progressive Party-led government assured that the threat of a life sentence had only been made to curb the scourge of killings faced against those living with the condition.
“Anyone who will be found killing people with albinism should know and expect life imprisonment if apprehended,” Mutharika was quoted as saying.
The confirmation followed the sentencing of a man found guilty of murder in the country’s Mzuzu district.
According to reports, the suspect was handed a life sentence after being implicated in the murder of an albino national within the district.
Malawi has previously ruled out the implementation of the death penalty against killers of people with albinism, saying that such legislation would go against human rights agreements that the country had entered into, Nyasa Times reported.
According to a previous Malawi24 report, Mutharika had already indicated his unwillingness to bring back the death penalty, saying that a special penalty needed not be stipulated.
“We already have the death penalty in our penal codes, we do not need a special one to use to target anyone who kills albinos,” Mutharika was quoted as saying.- News24
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