Minister of Homeland Security Catches Criminal Refugees & more –8th June 2023

Muli bwanji from BA! This is the Rorshok Malawi Update from the 8th of June twenty twenty-three A quick summary of what's going down in Malawi.

Last month, the Ministry of Homeland Security started arresting refugees living outside Dzaleka Refugee Camp, saying they broke the law. They also revoked the citizenship of refugees who had obtained it through fraudulent means. During this entire process, local and international bodies accused the government of human rights abuse, however, a sudden twist of events their support for the government ws called into question.

On Monday the 5th, Ken Zikhale Ng’oma, the Minister of Homeland Security, held a press briefing where he revealed that the Rwandan and Burundian governments asked the Malawi executive to help them track and repatriate fifty-five fugitives living in Malawi who are wanted for various crimes, including the murder of over two thousand people during the Rwandan nineteen ninety- four genocide.

Ng’oma also said that the UN Refugee Agency wants the Ministry to repatriate over five hundred asylum-seekers living in Malawi, who are also wanted for crimes in their countries.

He said the task would be challenging since the fugitives had changed their identities, started using Malawian names and obtained Malawian passports fraudulently. For instance, last month the South African government arrested Fulgence Kayishema, a Rwandanese genocide suspect. He had a Malawian passport under the name Positani Chikuse, which they believe he obtained between twenty seventeen and twenty eighteen.

If you recall, in twenty-twenty, Uladi Mussa – former Minister of Homeland Security – was sentenced to six years in prison for giving foreign nationals and refugees Malawian passports in exchange for bribes.

Ng’oma said the government fears that some of the refugees are armed and may participate in the armed conflict happening in the Cabo Delgabo region in neighboring country Mozambique. He has since ordered refugees possessing illegal weapons to surrender them to the police or risk being arrested.

The government has revoked citizenship of over three hundred refugees so far.

The Ministry of Health also had updates concerning foreign nationals, but this time, they were positive.

On Thursday the 1st, the Ministry released a statement saying the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and Cholera had revised their travel requirements. Starting from Monday the 5th, since the COVID-19 situation in Malawi has improved significantly, incoming travelers will no longer need to produce a COVID-19 vaccination certificate or a negative COVID PCR Test result. They said they will continue to monitor the situation, and may re-institute COVID-19 control measures if needed. They have advised outgoing travelers to comply with entry requirements in other countries.

While Malawi might have won the fight against COVID-19 and Cholera, the Lilongwe District Health Office (or DHO) said they registered thirteen cases of leprosy between January and May this year, indicating that the disease is quickly resurfacing in Malawi. Last year, Lilongwe registered about thirty-six cases of leprosy.

On Wednesday the 7th, Dingase Ngongonda, a Dermatologist at the DHO, said the surge can be attributed to patients defaulting treatment, causing further transmission of the disease. She has urged all patients to adhere to the treatment.

The education sector shared some positive news.

If you recall, several hundred students were unable to sit for their Primary School and Secondary school examinations because school authorities, including head teachers, had stolen funds meant for their identity cards, meaning the Malawi National Examinations Board (or MANEB) did not register them for the exams.

On Friday the 2nd, MANEB said they will administer deferred examinations to such students at the end of the month. They requested that all the schools that had affected candidates write to them by Wednesday the 7th, and provide the affected candidates’ details.

On Monday the 5th, MANEB released the timetable for the Primary School Leaving Certificate Examinations. The students will start sitting for their deferred exams on Wednesday the 28th and will finish on Friday the 30th. The link to the timetable is in our show notes.

In other news, Traffic Police Officers in Mzimba came under fire for detaining a vehicle carrying a sick child. The child died at their roadblock.

Local media revealed this heart-wrenching story on Monday the 5th. They said that the Traffic Police Officers detained the vehicle at Mtambalika roadblock for unknown traffic offenses. They asked the driver to pay a fine of ten thousand Kwacha, which is about ten dollars, despite the driver and passengers saying that they were on their way to Mzimba District Hospital because they were carrying a sick child who was bleeding from the nose and needed urgent medical attention.

On Tuesday the 6th, the Mzimba Heritage Association called on the police to discipline the traffic officers who were at the roadblock.

In a statement, Kingsley Jere, the Secretary-General for the Association, described the officers’ conduct as unacceptable.

More people are demanding exemplary behavior from authorities after local media revealed that Joe Thomas Nyirongo, the Director of Operations for the Democratic Progressive Party, was arrested on robbery allegations.

The Mzuzu Police suspect that Nyirongo is connected to a robbery that occurred in the city on the night of Wednesday the 7th, where robbers injured and stole cash from a local near Thukuta House. The victim was later rushed to the hospital by well-wishers.

Paul Tembo, the Spokesperson for Mzuzu Police said they’ve only taken Nyirongo in for questioning and that they are still conducting investigations.

On Thursday the 8th, Nyirongo confirmed via his social media that he had been arrested. He asked people to pray for him.

In other news, on Thursday the 8th, about a hundred people gathered at the Kamuzu International Airport to welcome Tabitha Chawinga – a football player who made news last week after winning the Golden Boot. She bagged the award after scoring twenty-three goals.

Chawinga’s achievement is highly esteemed since she is the first African player to become the top goal scorer for Italy’s Scorchers team and one of the few local sports players to play for a European club.

Social media was awash with some pictures and videos from her welcome, with people chanting her name and clapping. You can check them out in our show notes.

People are mourning the death of a comedian popularly known as Gogo Mlewa.

Gogo Mlewa grabbed the attention of many after starring in social media skits with her nephew, Yona Kantwera. One of her most famous clips is “Mbina Sisunga Banja”, loosely translated as “an attractive body does not keep a marriage”.

Kantwera said Gogo Mlewa died on Tuesday the 6th at Likuni Mission Hospital in Lilongwe and was buried on Thursday the 8th. She was ninety.

One of Malawi’s entertainment media platforms struck an exciting deal.

On Wednesday the 7th, the DStv Malawi page revealed that Mikozi had entered a Tripartite Agreement with Power TV Zambia and Elation Entertainment Zambia.

Bright Chiligo, the CEO of Mikozi, told local media that Mikozi will carry out a weekly poll so that people vote for the Best Video of the Week. At the end of the month, Mikozi will hold another poll to determine the Best Video of the Month from amongst the best videos of the week.

The video of the month will make daily media rotations in Zambia, Malawi, Botswana and Namibia for about a week – thus helping artists expand their reach and fan base.

In our last episode, we shared that two of the country’s former presidents, Joyce Banda and Bakili Muluzi, had teamed up to build houses for survivors of Tropical Cyclone FREDDY. However, there are fears that the two might have been duped.

On Wednesday the 7th, Joyce Banda shared on her Facebook page that the project is being funded through Dozy Mmobuosi – a Nigerian national and friend of Muluzi.

After that, locals started sharing old international articles saying that Mmobuosi was sued by UK and US companies for debt, was accused of brazen fraud, and lied about being a billionaire.

Mmobuosi’s behavior was called into question, as he might have swindled the two presidents and the government.

Aaaand that's it for this week. You know every week we work hard to pick what the most important stuff is in Malawi. What's talked about the most, what's big but flies under the radar. All the main stuff. Are we getting the mix right? Not a specific thing we have missed? what types of information do you want more or less of? Let us know at malawi@rorshok.com

Pitani bwino!