Zomba prisoners get expired margarine: Unilever says it meant to be used as soap

Prisoners at Zomba maximum prison are angry and want answers on why Unilever Malawi donated expired margarine as Christmas gifts, saying this could be a health hazard.

Some prisoners have complained to their relations that the margarine was donated to the prisoners on December 17 as Christmas gifts.

“Each inmate received four margarines weighing 200milligrams. After they had already eaten, they discovered that the margarine was expired, some of the margarine expired by months others by days,” said a relation to one of the inmates.

Prison spokesman Smart Maliro asked for more time to find out what happened but Unilever country manager Chikondi Ng’ombe confirmed the incident, saying the company had agreed with prison officials that the margarine be used for soap making.

Ng’ombe said the margarine was not meant for consumption but solely for soap making.

“We had agreed that the margarine be recycled to make soap,” said Ng’ombe without elaborating whether the prison has the capacity to recycle margarine into soap.