Malawi Police arrest chiefs, local leaders over K2.6m cash transfer scam
Malawi Police in Dedza have arrested a number of people including traditional leaders whilst 17 of them under chief Kaphuka are under probe over a K2.6 million cash transfer scam.
Chief Kaphuka has since warned he would fire the 17 village headmen involved in the scam.
United Purpose, formerly Concern Universal official Joseph Mphipira said his organisation earmarked the K2.6 million to be distributed to the poorest hit by drought.
“Instead of putting the poor as beneficiaries, the chiefs put friends and relatives as beneficiaries and shared the money. Worse still, they demanded money from the beneficiaries,” he said.
He said out of the K2.6 million distributed, K1.2 million has since been recovered from the bogus beneficiaries.
Mphipira said his office is working with the police to recover all the money from dubious beneficiaries. He doubted the program would continue following this mess by traditional leaders and those in area development committees.
Chief Kaphuka said it was sad his traditional leaders were involved in the scam.
“Any traditional leader, convicted in the scam, would be fired, there is no choice about this,” he said. Dedza is also on spotlight following revelations that the district council dubiously engaged unskilled contractors to construct two bridges and a school block which all collapsed before they were used. One of the contractors blamed this on witchcraft.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
poor malawi. we thot by giving powers to the chiefs things will be ok but no. better leave some of these issues to us civil servants.
koma abale zinazi tisamawonelele chonchi. O chewa adati: muvi oyang’anila udagwaza diso. siizi lero mafumu 17 anyambita makobiri onse aanthu ovutikitsitsa. Apolice langani basi. Komaso abale oweruza mmakhoti samalani pa dedzapo zikuveka kuti pali chisawawa. La 40 likakwana Mulungu akuonani ndipo mudzavutitsa maanja anu. Dziko lilibe mwina mboni ndi bwana wathu chaponda.
Kuba kwafika pobvuta zedi wina aliyense akufuna za madulira dziko la anthu awulesi ili silizatukuka mpaka Yesu adzabwere .
Start the investigations with the TA himself. He is the architect of the theft. I wonder why Government continues to pay a deaf ear to this. He has stolen money from small chiefs under the guide of elevating them to GVH but were all told by the DC that they are not recognized. Government has tolerated this corruption for too long in TA Kaphuka.
TA Kaphuka himself must be the first to be investigated. He is too corrupt to be a chief.
He has stolen a lot of money from small chiefs under the guise of elevating them to Group Village Headmen. The DC’s office and Ministry of Local Government tend feign ignorance in this matter.
What is government doing? Imagine in one village having 3 GVH. That is insane. The investigations must start with the TA himself.
blamed it on witchcraft really?? you have made me laugh – its a shame about the issue though that the poor continue to suffer like this.