Day: July 6, 2023

The Association of Persons with Albinism in Malawi, or APAM, is appealing for urgent intervention to stop continued attacks on people with albinism in the country.

This comes after unidentified people in June tampered with a grave in Blantyre, a city in southern Malawi, exhumed a body and removed its arms and legs. The incident has raised existing fears within the community, advocates say.

Young Mahamba, president of APAM, said the incident is the seventh this year alone.

“We also had three tampering with graves and another two attacks on the 9th of last month [June 9],” Mahamba told VOA. “And also, in Phalombe [a district in the southern region of Malawi], there was the tampering of graves. This one was discovered on 20th March without limbs as [was] this one.”

Since 2014, more than 170 albinos have been killed or attacked in Malawi because of false beliefs that concoctions mixed with their body parts bring luck and wealth, according to official data.

In the past, religious leaders, police, herbalists and relatives of the deceased have been named and arrested in connection to the attacks and body exhumations.

A high court in Blantyre sentenced a police officer, a Catholic priest and four others to 30 years imprisonment with hard labor in late June after finding them guilty of transacting human remains of a person with albinism.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, Pauline Kaude, told VOA that since 2019 the government has been working on seven priority areas in its national action plan to end such attacks.

Kaude said the areas include enhancing security, administration of justice and empowerment of people with albinism.

The government is also boosting security at the homes of vulnerable people with albinism. But APAM’s Mahamba said it needs to be a collaborative effort.

“We just hear of projects concerning welfare of people with albinism, but we do not see them on the ground,” Mahamba told VOA. “The international organizations should come forward and assist. They should not wait for the issue to come out of hand [and] to be hearing three or four cases per day, no.”

Mahamba said the government needs to review — and improve — its efforts to protect people with albinism from attacks and make changes where needed.

“If you ask each and every person with albinism here in Malawi, they will tell you that this issue hasn’t stopped, and we don’t have peace. So, there is no time [to] relax, to hold the breaks in terms of our security,” Mahamba said.

Peter Kalaya, national spokesperson for Malawi Police Service, said police are not able to make progress because of the false beliefs by some that there is a viable demand for body parts.

“People just believe there is a market, and they have been attacking people with albinism chopping off their limbs and body parts. They do not even know where to sell them,” Kalaya said. “If we ask the suspects that we have arrested, there has been no one who has come to us and said, ‘I was taking these to someone, and he is the one who buys body parts.’”

Kalaya said the police are, however, working with various interventions to end the attacks, including a program that empowers members of the community to detect and report suspected incidents aimed at people with albinism.

The program, Kalaya added, has led to the arrest of many people suspected of being attackers.

Source: Voice of America

Kenya Wildlife Service officers in Ijara sub-county, Garissa, last night gunned down a hyena that had strayed into Gumarey village, Terrabora location, Masalani division causing great fear and anxiety among residents.

Confirming the incident to KNA, Ijara Kenya Wildlife Service Warden Mr. Adan Alio said the animal invaded the village at around 9. pm following which fearful residents alerted his office.

‘A rogue hyena invaded Gumarey at around 2100hrs causing distress among villagers. We rushed to the scene immediately and eliminated the hyena after a tip-off from members of the public,’ Mr Alio said.

Alio thanked area residents for being vigilant and alerting the Service urging them to continue supporting the KWS in order to evade human/wildlife conflicts.

‘Please continue alerting us whenever you spot straying wild animals so that timely action is taken to protect human lives and properties,’ he urged.

On his part Ijara acting deputy County commissioner Mr. Dubat Mohamed commended the Gumarey residents for reporting the hyena incident to KWS instead of taking the law into their hands and killing it.

He likewise commended Ijara KWS office for acting swiftly before the animal caused havoc in the village.

Source: Kenya News Agency

The county Assembly of Murang’a has adopted a report recommending the construction of five new fire stations to ensure firefighting services are easily accessible by residents.

In a report on firefighting services in the county tabled before the House by Nginda MCA John Mwangi Kamau, it was revealed that the firefighting department has only three operational fire stations in different parts of the county including Murang’a town which serves as the headquarters, Kenol substation in Maragua Sub County and Kangari substation in Kigumo Sub County.

‘The county is facing a lot of challenges when it comes to response time and suppression of all forms of fire outbreaks and other emergencies occurring in the county since the existing services are only available in major towns,’ said Kamau, a member of the youth, gender, culture and social services committee.

Kamau said that the construction of the additional fire stations would mean that more sub-counties would have firefighting substations hence making services easily available to the locals.

‘The department plans to expand through the construction of new fire stations in Kangema, Kahuro, and Mathioya in that order,’ he said adding that in Kangema there is a vehicle ready for deployment and a building pending renovation and recruitment of staff to serve in the station.

The fire services department’s scope of work is to respond to numerous emergencies, which include fires, road traffic accidents, pit rescues, fuel spillage, landslides, and building collapses among others.

The majority of the MCAs passed the motion of adopting the report noting that the existing fire department is poorly equipped and recommended that the department include the procurement of five fire trucks, five hydrants, an ambulance, and a water bowser in the next financial year to improve the services.

‘If the stations are fully equipped and have adequate personnel they will be able to discharge their functions efficiently and effectively,’ he said adding currently there are two firefighting vehicles, one motorbike and three quadbikes, and 38 staff serving the department

He stated that the report observed that the department has installed 10 fire hydrants in strategic points within the county for water supply.

‘There is a need for more points to refill the fire engines in order to minimize response time,’ he said, adding that firefighting was the most visible function that is carried out under disaster risk management.

MCA for Kangari Moses Macharia while supporting the motion observed that there has been a lot of negligence in responding to fire emergencies noting that it is high time the department comes up with an action plan on how to respond to emergencies.

‘These emergencies like fire are not something that we anticipate to happen. But when they do happen, emergency services should be coordinated by the firefighting department to benefit the people,’ Macharia noted.

MCA for Mugumo- ini Alex Wanyoike while supporting that motion said firefighting services should be enhanced across the county and not only in selected towns.

He applauded the committee for the good work they have done in coming up with the report and gave an example of a disaster that happened in his ward to depict the need to fast-track the recommendations made on the report.

‘Two men were buried in the debris in a mining site in my area where they worked. My efforts to reach out to the nearest fire station to offer rescue services which is kilometers away in Kenol town were futile,’ he divulged adding that since Mugumo-ini is close to the neighboring Kiambu county, he opted to call Kiambu firefighters but due to the delay they could not save the duo and only recovered their bodies.

On his part, MCA for Kagundu-ini, Samson Mukora while supporting the motion said the proposed construction of five new stations is a good recommendation but only if the stations are fully equipped and competent personnel hired.

‘The firefighters have in the past been arriving after everything has been consumed by the fire claiming they didn’t have enough fuel and water which resulted in massive destruction of properties and loss of lives,’ he regretted.

The report recommended that the department conduct more community-oriented sensitization, capacity building, and volunteer training to increase awareness.

The report further recommended that the firefighting unit renovate all existing fire stations and equip them well.

Source: Kenya News Agency

West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin has distributed over 1401 hybrid Galla goats to over 2200 farmers in 79 farmers’ common interest groups (CIGs) to help improve their breeds and mitigate the effects of climate change through farming diversification measures.

The galla goats were purchased through the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP) in partnership with the county government of West Pokot.

Speaking at Nasukuta abattoir in Chepareria ward, West Pokot governor Simon Kachapin noted they have distributed the goats to farmers to help them improve their local breeds for more income in the competitive livestock market.

Governor Kachapin said the goats were distributed to over 2200 farmers in 79 common interest groups in Lomut, Alale, Sook, Sekker, and Endugh wards.

‘It is one way of changing the local breeds to hybrid ones; the local breeds have low meat and milk quality compared to improved breeds, and there is a need for farmers to rear the breeds that would earn them more meat, milk, and income,’ governor Kachapin noted.

He claimed that through the Kenya Climate Smart Agriculture Project, the residents have really benefited from the programs that have helped build resilience to climate change risks and provide an immediate and effective response in emergency situations.

He thanked the World Bank for their continued support and partnership in matters of development.

Kachapin noted that his administration would ensure that all projects undertaken by the county were transparent and accountable to stakeholders.

KCSAP coordinator Philip Ting’aa disclosed that they were promoting galla goat farming because of their resilience during dry spells, unlike the local breeds.

Ting’aa further disclosed that galla goats grow faster and have a bigger bosom compared to the local small East African goats.

He went on: ‘The big bodies of galla goats attract high prices in the market compared to the local breeds.’

He said farmers’ common interest groups requisitioned more galla bucks for crossbreeding to enable them to upgrade their local breeds.

Ting’aa warned the farmers against selling or slaughtering the galla goats donated, saying they were meant for breeding purposes.

He encouraged farmers to try their fortune in climate-smart agriculture activities in order to win the fight against hunger, poverty, and malnutrition.

He said the goats were sourced from farmers who breed them in Laikipia County, and they were vaccinated against diseases before they were donated to farmers for breeding.

Peter Tepakwang, a beneficiary, thanked the county government and the World Bank for the hybrid goat gift saying it will improve his life because they mature faster and can fetch good prices than local breeds.

Philip Domoreng, another beneficiary from Lomut ward, says they will use the galla bucks to crossbreed the local breeds.

Domoreng added that because galla goats grow faster and have larger bodies than local breeds they currently have, they would benefit them a lot in terms of meat and milk.

Source: Kenya News Agency