Frustrated passport applicants yesterday stirred commotion at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services offices in Lilongwe in protest against delayed processing that left part of the offices damaged and seven arrested.
Police swiftly moved in to quell the situation and fired teargas to disperse the protesters shortly after the regional immigration offices opened for business.
The unrest also left one immigration officer injured while office windows were shattered.
The incident comes amid government efforts to review its passport supply contract with India-based Madras Security Printers Private Limited, as the Immigration Department struggles to meet demand amid a nationwide backlog of over 300 000 applications.
Eyewitnesses told The Nation that applicants were fed up of repeatedly being told that network problems had disrupted passport printing.
“Since Monday, people have repeatedly been told to come back as passports could not be printed due to network failure. Apparently, the applicants could not take the excuse any more, hence the violent reaction today,” said one witness, who declined to be named.
But Immigration Department national spokesperson Pasqually Zulu attributed the disruption to a power supply failure at the regional office in Lilongwe’s Area 4, compounded by a faulty solar-powered backup system.
He said the electricity problem has persisted since Monday.
Zulu said immigration authorities had offered to engage the applicants in discussions, but the offer was rejected in favour of violence.
“The violence has unnecessarily worsened the situation for people who genuinely need to travel abroad for medical treatment, education and other pressing matters,” he said.
Zulu also suggested that informal intermediaries, popularly known as dobadobas, who earn money by helping applicants navigate passport application processes, could have encouraged the unrest.
The department’s explanation points to a localised power supply problem in Lilongwe rather than a nationwide technical failure, with Zulu indicating that other immigration formations, including those at headquarters in Blantyre and regional offices in Mangochi and Mzuzu did not experience similar operational problems.
Zulu said the department had printed and issued nearly 170 000 passport booklets supplied by Madras since February 2025, when the five-year contract was signed.
Valued at $29.975 million, the contract runs until 2030 and required about $17.9 million, representing approximately 60 percent of its value, to be paid upfront.
The Nation investigations indicate that the current Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration has paid $9 million towards the contract while the preceding Malawi Congress Party (MCP) administration, which signed the agreement, made no payment.
Under the agreement, Madras is required to supply 100 000 booklets annually over five years. Zulu said the contracted volume was insufficient to meet demand.
The Madras agreement followed the termination of earlier arrangements with technology firm Techno Brain, whose contract was valued at $60.8 million, and interim local supplier E-Tech Systems.
