Sorrowful mood has engulfed people of Sitima village in the area of Traditional Authority (TA) Masumbankhunda in Lilongwe district as unknown people have exhumed the body of a person with albinism who died in April this year.
The deceased, who has been identified as Wilson Phiri, died of skin cancer on April 7, 2022.
According to information we have sourced from his brother Maron Steven, the unknown perpetrators are believed to have cut and went away with body parts including legs and arms, leaving late Phiri’s body with the head and chest only.
Steven says some women who went to fetch firewood at the graveyard where late Phiri was buried, came across an exhumed tomb, the development which raised their eyebrows and they instantly reported the matter to village authorities.
“Some women who went to the graveyard to fetch firewood saw a whole with fresh soil on it. They then moved close to it and realized that the tomb had been dug out,”said Maron, adding that when authorities got the news, they rushed to the scene to establish reality.
“Upon their arrival at the graveyard, they realized that it was my brother’s tomb that had been exhumed. We believe this has happened in the wee hours of Friday,” he added.
As of now, police have not commented on the matter but National Coordinator for Association for Persons with Albinism in Malawi (APAM), Maynard Zechariah has described the news as heartbreaking.
Zechariah says this will bring back fears that people with albinism in the country have been having on their safety.
He has also condemned the government for lacking commitment towards provision of security to people with albinism.
“The government promised us that it will end these acts but we are up to date still getting the reports of abduction, torture and killings of our members as well as having their tombs exhumed,” stressed Zechariah.
He has since called on the President Dr Lazarus Chakwera’s attention towards the issue if people with albinism are to be protected and live in peace.
 Masumbankhunda in Lilongwe district as unknown people have exhumed the body of a person with albinism who died in April this year.){kind=link}