A Malawian court sentenced a Catholic priest to 30 years in prison and four other defendants to life in prison on Monday for the horrific murder of an albino man in 2018.
Thomas Muhosha, according to Judge Dorothy NyaKaunda Kamanga, had attempted to sell MacDonald Masambuka’s tissue.
The victim was 22 at the said time.
‘The offence was motivated by the disability of the deceased, that of albinism,’ she said in a ruling handed down in the city of Blantyre.
She said the priest, who led a parish in Machinga, 100 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Blantyre, had breached the trust many had placed in him.
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Five other suspects were handed life sentences.
The killing occurred at the height of a spree that saw over 40 people with albinism murdered and scores of others assaulted.
One of the five convicted was the victim’s brother.
“The convicts took advantage of the deceased’s psychological need for love,” the judge said.
“They lured him into believing that they had found a prospective wife for him and that they should go and meet her — that ended up being his death trap.”
A total of 12 people were handed various sentences over the killing.
From 2014 Malawi suffered a wave of assaults against albinos, whose body parts were used in witchcraft rituals in the superstitious belief that they brought wealth and luck.
Africa Today News, New York reports that from 2014 Malawi has continuously suffered a wave of assaults over several years against albinos whose body parts are used in witchcraft rituals in the mistaken belief that they bring wealth and luck.
In a judgement which was delivered on Thursday, a high court concluded that the 12 plotted to kill Masambuka to extract his bones, hoping to benefit financially.
“This is a violation of the right to human life and the greatest violation of the rights to life and integrity for persons with albinism,” said judge Dorothy NyaKaunda Kamanga.
Masambuka was murdered after being enticed by his brother to meet his friends who he claimed had found him a woman to marry.