Irish clinicians shocked at murder of patient with albinism in Malawi

A Dublin couple who run clinics for people with albinism in Malawi have spoken of their shock over the murder of one of their patients there for body parts.

A second patient, a 12-year-old girl, was the subject of an attempted abduction linked to witchcraft rites earlier this month, according to GP Dr Mark Wheeler and his wife, Carol O'Dea.*

The couple have urged the Irish Government to do all it can to put pressure on the authorities in Malawi to stamp out the practice, which has resulted in the murder of 17 people with albinism since 2014.

The 26-year-old man who was murdered, Saidi Futon Dyton, was abducted in his home village in late January and killed nearby. Suspects who were arrested by police, including a member of his family, confessed to the killing. They told police they intended to transport the body to a nearby city, to be sold for use in witchcraft.

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Mr Dyton’s body parts were later found buried and bagged in two different locations.

The Dublin couple run eye clinics in Malawi together with Standing Voice, a London-based charity that advocates for the rights of people with albinism.

Albinism is caused by a mutation in genes that affects the production of melanin. It is typically characterised by pale skin, light hair and poor vision.

Globally, one person in 18,000 has albinism, but this rises to one in 1,400 in parts of Africa, Standing Voice says.

People with albinism face discrimination and poverty, but they also fall victim to ritual attacks in regions where superstition says their body parts bring power, wealth and good luck.

‘Violently abused’

Along with facing stigma, they are particularly vulnerable to sunlight, which is challenging in Malawi’s hot climate.

“People with albinism in Malawi are a violently abused minority,” according to Ms O’Dea, a GP practice manager in Edenmore.* “Many are shut out of civil participation and unable to access the most basic opportunities and services, including healthcare, education, housing, and employment.”

Because they are markedly paler than the rest of the population, they are also highly visible, and their condition is “poorly understood and shrouded in suspicion and myth”.

“Every day, the lives of my brothers and sisters with albinism are endangered in Malawi,” according to Bonface Massah, country director of Standing Voice Malawi.

“Our body parts are hunted for use in witchcraft by criminals, and our safety is further jeopardised by the failure of authorities to prevent this violence, to bring perpetrators to justice, and to identify and charge the buyers who commission these unthinkable atrocities.”

According to the charity, 211 people with albinism have been murdered, and 603 have been attacked, across 28 African countries since 2006 due to witchcraft beliefs.

But an even more pressing problem is skin cancer, as people with albinism have little melanin to protect their skin and often struggle to access sunscreen.

Skin cancer

Due to a lack of understanding of the condition, many patients present too late, Ms O’Dea says, when their skin cancer is very advanced and treatment options have narrowed.

The programme run by the couple trains health workers to deliver an outreach skincare service and educate staff in hospitals and clinics every six months.

Patients are provided with hats, sunglasses and umbrellas, as well as sunscreen, and are referred to larger hospitals if advanced treatment is required.

Due to travel restrictions caused by the pandemic, the programme was adapted so that training could be provided by local experts, with remote support.

*Story amended at 10.15am on February 15th, 2021.