MDF closes in on impostors
Deputy Minister of Defence Jappie Mhango says the Malawi Defence Force(MDF) has started investigations into cases of impostors claiming to be MDF officers and collecting money from unsuspecting people with the promise of offering them jobs in the military.
Mhango said this in an interview in Lilongwe after several people had complained that conmen were getting money from them in the guise of giving them jobs in the army.
Said Mhango: “We have started investigating this issue so that we get to the bottom of it. This is a very serious matter and we are following up leads which will lead to the arrest of these people soon. This is an issue bordering on theft and fraud and we will not let anyone to go scot free after stealing from desperate Malawians. Why should someone swindle money from a person looking for a job? This is inhuman.”
He also advised Malawians to report anyone masquerading as a soldier on a recruitment exercise to the police or the nearest army barracks.
MDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Francis Kakhuta Banda, said two young men were last month turned back at Mafco in Salima where they had travelled to report for training.
Said Kakhuta: “This is a big problem but sometimes people are reluctant to come out in the open when they have fallen prey to the impostors for fear of being ridiculed. One of these boys is said to have parted with K30 000 while the others claim to have paid K3 000 to K5 000.”
The issue of impostors has reached unprecedented levels in the country with some individuals impersonating even President Peter Mutharika’s staff and claiming money from chiefs in the Northern Region. n
