By Emmanuel Nduka
Malawi’s Parliament has sworn in an albino activist, the first in a country where people with albinism have suffered discrimination and lynching.
The Lawmaker, Overstone Kondowe, won a by-election last month in central Malawi, after facing years of victimisation.
“Being the first person with albinism elected in this kind of office, there is high expectation, not only in Malawi, but the whole world is looking forward to what I would do.
“My last word to persons with disability, and in particular persons with albinism, they need not to underrate themselves.
“And they need to work hard towards their goal. I remain a model to them and I will inspire them more so that they aim higher,” he said after his swearing-in.
Since 2014, Malawi has suffered a wave of assaults against albinos. In the heat of the attacks in 2016, Kondowe founded the Association of People with Albinism in Malawi to push the government to take actions.
According to Amnesty International, more than 20 albinos have been killed in Malawi since 2014.
Within the last four months, Amnesty said seven attacks against albinos have been recorded, ranging from killings, tampering of graves, attempted abductions, and physical violence.
As practiced in some countries in Africa, albinos’ body parts are used in rituals to bring wealth and luck, while some other cultures accuse albinos of being “vampires” who seek human blood for rituals.
Kondowe who is the current Chairperson of the African Union for Persons with Albinism Also, has also been appointed by Malawi President, Lazarus Chakwera, as his Special Adviser on people with disability.
“Overstone’s election is a giant step forward in the protection of human rights of people with albinism in Malawi and the Africa region as a whole.
“It shows that the context of discrimination is changing for the better for people with albinism in Malawi,” the President said.
