Three people were on Tuesday August 13, handed a death sentence by a court in Malawi for killing an albino whose body part they intended to use in witchcraft rituals to bring wealth and luck.

 

The two men and woman found guilty of albino killing by a court in the western town of Mchinji , were identified as Douglas Mwale, Fontino Folosani and Sophie Jere. They were convicted for murdering Priscott Pepuzani in 2015 using a metal bar and a hoe handle. Limbs of the deceased was chopped off by the convicts, before they buried the rest of the body in a garden.

 

While the death sentence handed down to the convicts is said to be the second in the past three months, it was learnt that death sentences are commuted to life imprisonment as Malawi has not carried out any executions since 1994.

 

AFP reported that there has been a surge in albino killing since 2014 by Malawians who believe using their body parts for rituals will bring them wealth and luck.