A manhunt is underway at Ngabu in Chikwawa District for a thug who attempted to kidnap a five-year-old boy with albinism.

According to police report in the district, the boy escaped kidnap in the wee hours of Saturday after his mother single-handedly fought the criminal.

Chikwawa Police Station Public Relations Officer, Constable Foster Benjamin said the incident occurred at Zuze Village in Senior Chief Ngabu in the district.

“The thug, who was masked, is believed to have entered the house through the front window.

According to the boy’s mother, Margret Richard, 30, her son woke up screaming after being grabbed by the unknown man.

Awakened by the scream, the mother flickered on a torchlight that revealed a man in a mask, pulling at her son from the mat,” Benjamin said.

According to the police publicist, the mother launched an onslaught, battling with the suspected kidnapper.

“At the time, the father of the house who was asleep in a separate room, got into action and found the criminal already out through the same window he used to enter the house.

“The matter was then reported to Ngabu Police Post and the visit to the house found that the window was not reinforced as it was sealed using a sack,” he added.

Meanwhile, police in the district have intensified the search for the thug.

Benjamin, therefore, urged members of the public to make sure that their houses are reinforced and properly secured.