Peter Mutharika protects albinos
The would-be murderers, abductors, sellers of body parts and users of derogatory language against persons with albinism in the country have to think twice before committing such crimes as President Peter Mutharika has assented to bills that provide for tougher punishments for the offences.
The bills that Mutharika has assented to include the motion on Anatomy (Amendment) Act Bill that Dowa East Member of Parliament, Richard Chimwendo Banda, moved in June this year and the subsequent Penal Code (Amendment) Bill that Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Samuel Tembenu, tabled in July.
Reacting to the development, Chairperson for National Technical Committee on Abuse of Persons with Albinism, Hetherwick Ntaba, said the development means “honeymoon is over for the perpetrators”.
“This means there are now stiffer punishments to those people who are going to be abusing the rights of persons with albinism and those people must now expect stiffer sentences. We are talking about 30 years, life sentences and we are talking about death sentences. These are very stiff sentences and the judiciary is also very serious on the same,” Ntaba said.
Association of People with Albinism in Malawi already commended Parliament for passing the law and said it would help in addressing the problem.
The amendments to the Penal Code, according to Tembenu, supplement the existing criminal laws and that punishment in the amended law varies with the nature of attack on people with albinism.
The attacks on people with albinism in the country have been in the form of outright murders, abductions maiming and causing grievous bodily harm with a view of harvesting body parts, selling of body parts such as bones, assaults and using derogatory language.
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