A judge in Malawi has sentenced the murderer of an albino teenager to death, saying the unprecedented penalty could help end a spree of similar killings linked to the country’s general election.
Willard Mikaele was told he would hang for the strangling and ritualistic dismemberment of Mphatso Pensulo, who was 19 when he was lured into his killer’s house with a promise of juice and biscuits in 2017.
Pensulo’s murder was one of at least 25 documented killings of albinos since 2014, a spree that has spread terror through Malawi’s 10,000-strong community and raised troubling questions about the country’s political culture.
Albinos, who suffer from a genetic condition that bleaches the skin, eyes and hair white, have long been the victims of a widely held superstition that their bones and innards contain magical properties which bring luck and material wealth.
But albino-rights activists believe that the trade in albino body parts is driven by politicians, who are among the few who can afford the thousands of dollars involved it takes to pay off hitmen and witchdoctors.
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A surge in killings was noted before Malawi’s last election in 2014, with another reported in recent months as the country again goes to the polls a fortnight on Tuesday. Politicians themselves privately admit the practice takes place, saying their colleagues use charms made of albino remains in the belief it will help them win their seats.
There is no indication that Mr Pensulo’s killing was linked to politicians. His murderer was a rich businessman who had been told by a medicine man that killing an albino was a path “to get rich fast”, Justice Maclean Kamwambe said.
The death penalty is rare — and has not been carried out since 1994 — but Justice Kamwambe said it was merited in order to protect the country’s albino minority.
“There will be times when the death sentence shall be unavoidable due to the circumstances and it should be reserved for such occasions,” he told the court.
The Association for People with Albinism in Malawi, the country’s leading albino activist group, did not comment on the ruling, but it has previously said that albinos will only be safe if the real masterminds behind the killings are identified and convicted.