Priest among 12 convicted over Malawi albino murder

A Malawi court has convicted 12 people in connection with the 2018 grisly murder of one Macdonald Masambuka, a 22-year-old man living with albinism.

Five of the 12 suspects; the victim’s brother, a Catholic priest, a policeman and a physician, were convicted for murder while the remaining seven were charged with selling the his body parts.

Other charges that faced the 12 include; extracting human tissues, causing harm to a person with disability, and human trafficking. They will all be sentenced on May 30, 2022.

According to court documents, the victim went missing on March 9, 2018 after his brother allegedly convinced him to go meet his friends at a location in Malawi’s Machinga area.

The brother reportedly claimed that his friends had identified a woman who was willing to marry Masambuka.

Enticed by the idea, Masambuka followed his brother, only to meet his demise at the hands of his own kin and his accomplices who allegedly dragged him to a nearby garden before killing and chopping off his limbs.

They would then burn the victim’s body before burying it in the said garden.  The corpse was discovered on April 2, 2018.

According to Director of Public Prosecutions Steve Kayuni, the court was convinced beyond all reasonable doubt that the 12 conspired to kill and sell the victim’s body parts on the perception that it would bring them luck and wealth, an outdated belief that is still common in the Southern African nation. 

“It’s really something overwhelming on the part of the State considering that this matter, if you notice, there is a police officer involved, a priest involved and there is a brother involved,” Kayuni told VOA.

“If you notice, it all revolves around the position of trust — that somebody like the late Macdonald Masambuka trusted so much, they are the ones who ended up betraying him.”

Cases of persons with albinism being targeted for their body parts are not new in Malawi.

Since 2014, approximately 140 similar attacks have been reported in the Lazarus Chakwera-led nation.