EDITORIAL: Shame on You COSOMA Board Members, Pay Back Stolen Funds

It is beyond shameful that the very institution tasked with protecting Malawian artists—the Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA)—has become a playground for greed and self-enrichment. Recent revelations that board members, including Chairperson Bishop Chimwemwe Mhango, Wendy Harawa, and Deborah Ntopa, awarded themselves grants from the Copyright Fund is nothing short of daylight robbery.

Let us be crystal clear: this is not a minor oversight. It is blatant abuse of power, a conflict of interest, and a betrayal of every struggling artist in this country. While talented creators scrape by, struggling to fund their craft, COSOMA’s decision-makers treated the fund as their personal ATM. This is the very definition of injustice.

The audacity to allocate money to themselves while leaving deserving artists out in the cold is unconscionable, disgraceful, and indefensible. It is an insult to Malawi’s creative sector, and it exposes a rot that has metastasized at the heart of the institution. COSOMA is supposed to champion fairness, transparency, and accountability. Instead, it has become a shameless vehicle for self-dealing.

The solution is simple, yet urgent: COSOMA must immediately demand the return of all funds wrongly awarded to board members. Any attempt to sweep this under the carpet will only deepen public outrage and further erode trust in the organisation. The Office of the Ombudsman has already received the petition, and this should be the first step in a thorough investigation. But COSOMA itself cannot escape responsibility.

Artists, and indeed all Malawians, deserve institutions that serve the people, not line the pockets of the powerful. COSOMA must act now—repay the money, resign compromised board members, and institute real safeguards to ensure that the Copyright Fund actually benefits the creatives it was designed to protect.

Anything less is criminal negligence, moral bankruptcy, and an insult to every Malawian artist who has ever believed in this institution. The time for excuses is over. COSOMA must pay back the money and restore faith in Malawi’s creative industry—no ifs, no buts.

 

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