Court sentences man to 42 months in prison for presenting fake PPDA to JICA
Magistrate Court in Lilongwe on Tuesday sentenced Harold Mwalambula to 42 months imprisonment with hard labor for presenting a fake PPDA certificate to Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
This verdict follows a series of incidents where individuals have obtained fake PPDA certificates, often facilitated by individuals posing as intermediaries claiming to assist suppliers in acquiring PPDA certificates.
Mr. Mwalambula, aged 46, from Traditional Authority Kaphuka in Dedza District was employed as a Procurement Officer at JICA.
He resorted to presenting the forged documents to secure a business contract with his own employer. His original documents couldn’t be used due to the conflict of interest they would have posed. The deception was unearthed when another officer within JICA flagged an irregularity while scanning the QR code of the PPDA certificate, prompting further verification with the Authority.
In court, Mr. Mwalambula pleaded guilty to the two counts of Making a document without authority and Uttering a false document contrary to sections 364 and 360 of the penal code respectively. Consequently, he received a 42-month prison sentence.
This ruling underscores the gravity the offence and should serve as a stern warning against engaging in such illegal activities.
Let this also serve as a reminder that forging PPDA certificates is illegal and carries severe penalties -up to a maximum of 7 years- under the law. All stakeholders are urged to strictly adhere to legitimate procedures and refrain from any involvement in fraudulent activities.
The Authority wishes to commend JICA for taking necessary steps to verify the validity of the suspicious documents which led to the discovery of the forged documents.
The Authority, therefore, would like to request other institutions to emulate this and take precautionary measures by scanning the QR code to authenticate PPDA certificates presented to them and report all suspicious documents.
The PPDA registration process is designed to be straightforward as such all business owners are encouraged to undertake it themselves to avoid being duped by unscrupulous individuals pretending to help people with supplier registration process.
