A pastor in Malawi has had to give up his ministry because his albinism has made him fear for his life.

Clement Dayile, a pastor at Christ Citadel Church in Mulanje, Malawi, told the Nyasa Times he had had to abandon his congregation until he felt more secure.

Albinism, a condition in which people lack pigment in their skin, hair and eyes, is seen as a stigma in Malawi and other African countries. Children with the condition are vulnerable to abduction and murder, with their body parts being used in witchcraft rituals, and there have been cases of adults being murdered.

"The situation is not conducive for me to be going out to preach. I don't even go out on longer distances, in fear I will be the next victim," said Dayile.

Elsewhere in Malawi, the body of a 38-year-old man named Fletcher Masina was discovered last week. His arms and genitals had been chopped off.

At least 17 albinos have died in Malawi during the last two years. In a BBC interview last week the country's president Peter Mutharika said he was "ashamed" of the killings and urged the Churches to address the issues.

The attacks are fueled by a belief that albino body parts bring wealth. Mutharika described the superstition as foolish and ignorant.

"The people who are telling people that it makes people rich are not even rich. They are wearing rags. How can a person like this make your rich if he himself cannot make himself rich?" he said.

In neighbouring Tanzania, the government banned witch doctors in a bid to curb a rising wave of attacks and murders after a four-year-old albino girl was kidnapped from her home by an armed gang.

More than 70 albinos have been murdered in Tanzania in the past decade for black magic purposes, according to United Nations figures. Many have been hacked to death and their body parts removed.

The two countries are collaborating in finding ways to tackle the problem.