A man has committed suicide and left a suicide note swearing he was innocent after he was accused of playing a part in the kidnap of an albino child in Malawi.
Police in Karonga have been searching for a one-and-half-year-old baby with albinism and her kidnappers after the child was abducted around 4am when she was sleeping with her mother.
Donald Msafiri was one of the suspects in the abduction of the child and he was taken in for questioning. After he was released, he hanged himself, but not without leaving a suicide note for his wife.
In the note, Msafiri told his wife that he is not bothered because he did not take part in the kidnap of the albino child. He went on to advise men to be contented with what is theirs and stop wanting what others have.
Abduction and murder of albinos is rampant in Malawi. Malawians believe the body parts of albinos are effective for rituals and witchcraft. As a result, albinos have been going missing in the country for a while now and they mostly never get found alive.
Bones and clothes of some of the missing albinos have been found and the perpetrators are going unpunished.
Thousands of people with albinism – particularly children – are at huge risk of abduction and killings in Malawi, where their body parts are sold for witchcraft.
