The Malawi Law Commission (MLC) has called for the review of the Witchcraft Act, especially because the Act fails to define what witchcraft is, making it difficult to protect vulnerable people such as the elderly from abuse.

 MLC Commissioner Mathew Theu made called for the above during the National Consultative Workshop on the Review of the Witchcraft Act held in Lilongwe recently, where it was established that there is no universal meaning of the word ‘witchcraft,”

The commission also proposed that rules of evidence which ordinarily apply in making determinations on criminal matters should apply to witchcraft matters. On the other hand, MLC Chairperson Justice Robert Chinangwa (retired) indicated that there were two schools of thought, one of which backs the existence of witchcraft while the other dispels such a notion.

Earlier this year, Veteran and prominent rights and governance activist Undule Mwakasungura, irked with increasing cases of witchcraft mob justice, urged the Government through the Malawi Police Service to “immediately arrest all the witchcraft mob-justice suspects and bring them to justice.” He said he believed the delay in arresting and bringing the suspects to justice could be one of the factors motivating others to continue torturing and killings people believed to be practicing

witchcraft.