Albino Brothers Fight For Lives After Attack

Malawian police have stepped up their hunt for the attackers of two brothers with albinism on Friday night.

The two brothers, Alfred and Yohane Misoya, aged 27 and 21 respectively, were attacked in a house they were sleeping in late on Friday night in Nsanje. The Nyasa Times reported that the two had suffered serious injuries and are currently battling for their lives at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Blantyre.

Boniface Massa, the national coordinator of Association of People with Albinism in Malawi attributed the attacks to laxity in security and called on the police to intensify security for people with albinism, according to the local newspaper.

Though no evidence points to the motive for this attack, people with albinism have in the past come under threat due to the belief in some parts that their body parts are able to bring wealth and good luck.

In March 2015, over 200 traditional healers in neighbouring Tanzania were arrested in a crackdown on the murder of those with albinism. At the time, the UN said over 200 albinoes had been killed in the country since 2000. - Town