A man with albinism has been murdered in a village near Lilongwe, Malawi, deepening fears about the safety of people with albinism in the region.
A village outside Lilongwe, Malawi, held a burial this week for a man with albinism who was killed — the latest in a pattern of targeted violence that human rights organisations have documented across the country for years.
AfricaBrief reported the death but did not publish the victim's name. The killing has left the local community in mourning, and it has renewed attention on the threat that people with albinism continue to face in Malawi, where attacks are frequently linked to the trade in body parts used in ritual practices.
Malawi is among the countries where the United Nations has repeatedly documented violence against people with albinism. A 2021 report by the UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism described Malawi as one of several Sub-Saharan African nations where killings, abductions, and the desecration of graves remain ongoing concerns. The body parts of people with albinism are falsely believed by some to carry properties that bring wealth or good fortune — a belief that human rights groups and researchers have consistently identified as the driver behind organised attacks.
Ikponwosa Ero, who served as the UN Independent Expert on albinism from 2015 to 2021, told the Human Rights Council that such killings are not random acts of violence but crimes enabled by a market — one that requires buyers, intermediaries, and a broader culture of impunity to persist.
As of the time of AfricaBrief's reporting, no arrest had been confirmed in connection with this killing. Advocacy organisations working in Malawi have long called on the government to strengthen prosecution of perpetrators and to provide protective measures for people with albinism in rural communities, where access to law enforcement can be limited.
Keywords
Core topics and entities mentioned in this summary.