The government has linked the attack on a woman with albinism in Mzimba to the fresh elections expected to be held in the country this year.
Government spokesperson Mark Botomani said in a statement on Sunday that the attack in Mzimba could be part of calculated violence ahead of the fresh presidential election ordered by the Constitutional Court on 3rd February, 2020.
Botomani who is also Minister of Information, Civic Education And Communications Technology was reacting to the attack on a woman with albinism, Tafwauli Ngoma, aged 92, of Traditional Authority Mbelwa in Mzimba district.
Ngoma was attacked on 15 February 2020, in her kitchen whereby two of her toes were chopped off by the assailant who pretended to ask for fire to kindle his cigarette.
According to Botomani, elsewhere in the region, violence against people with albinism has been linked to elections.
He said government believes that there is a chain of people involved in the criminal act.
He added that police will intensify security of people with albinism, especially now as the country prepares for fresh elections.
“Government would like to warn all politicians and political party supporters against attacking people with albinism to create a sense of insecurity for political reasons,” he said.
He also said that government has commanded Malawi Police Service to hunt for and arrest suspected criminals within the shortest period possible.
“Our brothers and sisters with albinism are full citizens of Malawi and must never be subjected to suffering during election period or at any other time,” he said.
He then urged people in the country to work together to make Malawi a safe place for persond with albinism.
