Malawi's Renewed Attacks on Persons with Albinism Raise Alarm

The story of Flora Saidi remains one of the most painful reminders of the violence faced by people with albinism in Malawi. According to accounts documented by advocacy organisations supporting persons with albinism in the country.

It was a Monday morning in 2003 when Flora Saidi left her home in Kadewere village under Traditional Authority Chowe in Mangochi, hoping to find piecework to feed her family. She left behind her 19-year-old son, Saidi Daitoni, a young man with albinism.

When she returned home empty-handed later that afternoon, her son had managed to earn a small amount of money. They agreed to share it with his girlfriend, who was visiting. Saidi left with her to look for change so they could divide the money properly. He never returned.

The following morning, Flora began searching for him. By then, he had disappeared. Police were informed, and after a search, his body was discovered near a residence he had visited the previous evening. Some of his body parts had been removed. The perpetrator was later sentenced to 155 years in prison with hard labour.

Persistent threats in rural Malawi

Malawi has 134,636 persons with albinism, with over 117,000 living in rural areas. It is in these rural communities where poverty, limited law-enforcement presence, and entrenched myths combine to create dangerous conditions.

For years, people with albinism have faced abductions, killings, and grave tampering, fuelled by beliefs that their body parts can bring wealth and good fortune through ritual practices. 

Persons with Albinism, especially in the southern African regions face persecutions, because their body parts are believed to bring lack of wealth after being mixed with some concoctions by a witch doctor. 

Others believe that when they have unprotected sexual intercourse with a person with albinism they can get cured of HIV/ AIDS.

The Association of Persons with Albinism in Malawi (APAM) has documented fresh cases in districts including Mulanje, Kasungu, and Dowa. Grave tampering and disappearances have reignited fear among families who had begun to feel cautiously safe.

According to United Nations Statistics, in 2014 alone police recorded 160-170 reported cases of attacks and abductions of Persons with Albinism.

In February 2018, Amnesty International published a joint report by the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and the Malawi Police Force with 148 cases reported in Malawi's four districts.

Recently, in 2026, more than  4 cases of persons with Albinism have been recorded by the Malawi Police Service ranging from attacks, abductions and tampering of graves in some parts of the country.

“We thought we were coming to an end of these attacks,” Maynard Zacharia, APAM’s National Coordinator, told FairPlanet. “Now we are seeing signs that the underlying issues were never fully resolved.”

Community protection in action

In response, APAM has intensified its on-the-ground efforts. The organisation is not only condemning attacks publicly but also mobilising communities in  hotspot districts such as Machinga.

One strategy involves relocating children with albinism from high-risk areas to safer homes. In some cases, this means placing them in boarding facilities or with vetted guardians where security is stronger. At the same time, APAM is lobbying authorities and partners to invest in secure-housing projects with reinforced doors, burglar bars, and community-based surveillance systems.

Beyond physical protection, APAM is conducting awareness campaigns aimed at dismantling the myths that drive violence. Working with chiefs, faith leaders, and local youth groups, activists hold community dialogues that confront harmful beliefs directly. In village meetings, survivors and families share testimonies, reframing albinism as a genetic condition rather than a mystical anomaly.

“These conversations are not easy,” Zacharia told FairPlanet. “But we have seen that when traditional leaders publicly reject the myths, attitudes begin to shift.”

The organisation is also pressing for the conclusion of more than 28 long-pending court cases involving murder and abduction. By monitoring proceedings and engaging legal-aid partners, APAM hopes to prevent cases from stalling indefinitely — a pattern that  erodes public trust.

Demanding accountability

Civil society actors argue that justice delayed is justice denied. The Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR), led by Executive Director Michael Kaiyatsa, has been vocal about the need for stronger political will.

Kaiyatsa told FairPlanet that fear remains a major barrier to reporting threats. In rural areas, families often hesitate to approach police due to mistrust in the justice system and fear of retaliation.

According to him, the situation was further complicated by the controversial pardon of police officers previously convicted in connection with an albinism-related killing. For rights groups, the decision sent a damaging signal.

“To victims’ families, it suggested that justice can be undone,” Kaiyatsa told FairPlanet. “To would-be offenders, it reinforced the perception that accountability is not guaranteed.”

In response, CHRR and other organisations have stepped up advocacy for witness-protection mechanisms and independent monitoring of investigations. They are pushing Parliament and relevant ministries to allocate dedicated funding for protection programmes and to ensure that cases are prioritised within the judiciary.

Reviving national commitments

Malawi once drew international praise for adopting a National Action Plan on the Protection of Persons with Albinism. However, the plan expired in 2022 and has yet to be renewed, leaving what activists describe as a dangerous coordination gap.

For activists, national-level commitment must translate into practical measures: timely investigations, functioning hotlines, trained police officers, and community-based protection committees.

“Commitments on paper are not enough,” Zacharia says. “We need implementation that reaches the village level.”

Rebuilding trust from the ground up

On the ground, solutions are increasingly community-driven. In some districts, local committees made up of chiefs, police representatives, teachers, and activists meet regularly to assess risks and share information. Informal early-warning systems — such as community WhatsApp groups with coordinated night patrols-have been introduced in certain high-risk areas.

Civil society organisations are advocating for long-term assistance for affected families, including counselling, educational support for orphaned children, and income-generating projects for households that have lost breadwinners.

These initiatives aim not only to respond to attacks but to address their ripple-effects — school dropouts, psychological trauma, and deepening poverty.

A fragile but determined progress

Organisations such as the Scotland Malawi Partnership insist that regression is not inevitable. They point to the increasing visibility of persons with albinism in advocacy spaces, media platforms, and leadership roles.

Flora Saidi, though still grieving, has participated in community meetings where she shares her story. Her testimony serves both as a warning and a call to action.

For Malawi, the struggle to protect persons with albinism is about more than ending ritual killings. It is about strengthening rural policing, restoring faith in the justice system, and dismantling centuries-old myths. 

For people like Flora Saidi, safety is still uncertain, but hope lies in the quiet work happening in villages and communities across Malawi.

Their efforts may not end the attacks overnight. But for families living in fear, each community meeting, each court case and each safe home built is a step toward something simple with the chance to live an ordinary life without fear.