‘Hunter becomes the hunted’

Police have arrested six people in connection with a  lawsuit in which 312 minors from Phalombe and Mulanje are seeking compensation for being circumcised by Popular Services International (PSI) Malawi without their guardians’ consent.

According to National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya, those arrested include a lawyer who allegedly used names of unsuspecting villagers in Phalombe and Mulanje districts to file lawsuits against PSI Malawi, now called Family Health Services (FHS).

In an interview on Thursday, Kalaya said the arrests follow investigations by Malawi Police Service’s Fiscal and Fraud Section in relation to a complaint by PSI, suspecting a plot to defraud it through bogus circumcision compensation claims.

The arrests come after Weekend Nation reported that 312 minors   had sued PSI Malawi claiming compensation for being circumcised between 2021 and 2022 without their parents or guardians’ consent.

“The suspects were arrested between December 12 and 15 2023 after we received a complaint from Family Health Services and observed some criminal elements that required investigations. However, more arrests will follow,” said Kalaya.

He identified the four as 29-year-old lawyer Dalitso Chimbe; Anthony Chipolopolo, 58, a clinician operating privately in Ndirande, Blantyre; Peter Mathewe, 44, a health surveillance assistant (HSA) under Phalombe District Hospital but working at Migowi Health Centre and Rose Howse, 53, who was working as an agent.

According to Kalaya, the four were charged with six offences including conspiracy to defraud contrary to Section 323 of the Penal Code, intent to defraud contrary to Section 354 of the Penal Code and abuse of office contrary to Section 95 of the Penal Code.

Other charges are false pretence, contrary to Section 319A of the Penal Code, making a false document contrary to Section 353 of the Penal Code and procuring, including execution of documents by false pretence contrary to Section 362 of the Penal Code.

Initially, in relation to the same matter, Mulanje Police arrested two suspects Vincent Chakhumata Banda, a medical practitioner at Mulanje district health office and Justin Iron who was working as an agent.  

The two were charged with offences of conspiracy to commit a felony and obtaining money to defraud others, abuse of office and false pretence.

According to Kalaya, the suspects conspired to execute a claim for compensation from FHS on behalf of over 400 male minors in the two districts alleged to have been circumcised between 2021 and 2022 without parental consent.

However, he said according to their investigations PSI suspended circumcision campaign and services in Phalombe and Mulanje districts in October 2019 due to Covid-19 and resumed in October 2022.

He said the majority of the alleged circumcised children on the provided list could not be found in the PSI Malawi database of the claimed period.

“Some of the names on the list who are claimed to be minors are actually adults aged over 30 years and married and a wife happens to be a guardian. Other adults on the list have been circumcised in 2023.

“Some of the names on the list are not circumcised at all and that the said claimants are representing minors who are non-existent. Further, PSI/FHS does not use health passports when recording data of their circumcised clients,” explained Kalaya.

He claims that Mathewe was going around villages in Phalombe, collecting names and national identity cards (IDs)  of purported to be male minors from the purported parents and guardians.

Said Kalaya: “He sent the data collected to Rose Howse through WhatsApp and physical delivery.”

On Chipolopolo, Kalaya claimed that he acquired over 150 health passport books, recorded and signed in the books as if he did the circumcision himself. He was charging K1 000 per book and for recording.

“The third suspect [Howse] acquired the first suspect and another, who is at large, to go in villages to collect names of male minors and also recruited the second suspect who created the health passport books.

“The fourth suspect [Chimbe] discussed with the third suspect all the modalities of executing the whole plan. Without due diligence he sued PSI/FHS using false claim,” said Kalaya.

Police investigations and arrests coincide with findings of independent investigations conducted by Mbeya Private Investigators (MPI) commissioned by FHS.

FHS executive director Jephta Mtema, in an earlier interview, said they engaged the services of MPI to probe and get to the bottom of the matter after being overwhelmed with the court summons and the claims.

“It is surprising that 312 claimants could come together and make one claim. It is somehow not normal. So we wanted to understand what was really happening and where the claims were coming from,” said Mtema.

MPI started its investigations on October 26 2023 MPI pertaining to three legal cases filed under civil causes at Midima Magistrate’s Court in Blantyre between August 2023 and October 2023 against PSI Malawi.

These include Damson Esimey suing on behalf of Enock Kachala, a minor, as his guardian and 311 others, Aida Mvula suing on behalf of Promise Mauzu, a minor, as his guardian and 24 others and Stella Mkhosa suing on behalf of Yusuf Banda, a minor as his mother and 21 others.

According to preliminary findings of MPI investigations, the alleged circumcisions of minors were conducted following proper procedures and most of the individuals suing were not legal guardians or parents and do not qualify to be such as defined under Section 2 of the Child Care, Protection and Justice Act.

However, the report claims for instance, one Khilise Nazombe who is allegedly representing Robert Manyamba is neither a relative nor someone known to the victim or his mother Mervis Khoviwa.

The findings reveal that the people were being told that PSI Malawi had either neglected or deliberately failed to compensate them after undergoing circumcision and the collection of the National IDs was meant to help in the process of recovery and payment of the funds.

In an interview, MBI managing partner Golden Mbeya while admitting carrying out the investigations and producing the preliminary reports, asked for more time before commenting on the matter.

“I own the reports but in the interim I have no instructions from my clients because it is their internal document. So unless I get instructions I have nothing to say,” he said. 

Since 1994, PSI Malawi has been implementing various programmes with a multi-disciplinary approach to social and behaviour change with priority health areas being HIV prevention, sexual and reproductive health and right and malaria prevention.