Malawi Police Service (MPS) in conjunction with the Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) on Sunday 23rd April, 2017 arrested, Mr. Pangani Chitsulo, aged 22, in Blantyre for enticing people to pay him money under pretence that he will find them jobs at MRA.

The suspect who hails from Thambani Village, Traditional Authority Nthache in Mwanza District is alleged to have told his victims that he is an agent of MRA responsible for recruiting temporary staff and that upon payment of a fee he will secure employment for them at the Authority.

“We received a tip from one of our employees that someone is conning people by collecting K6,800 as processing fees for one to get a contract job at MRA for a period of 18 months. We engaged Blantyre Police and jointly managed to arrest the suspect,” said Steven Kapoloma, Head Corporate Affairs at MRA.

Kapoloma called on the public to be alert and always report to relevant authorities such questionable activities of soliciting money.

“We wish to inform the public that MRA does not use agents in its recruitment process. We conduct merit-based recruitment exercises where people are employed based on their competency, capability and suitability for the jobs. We applaud the Police for acting swiftly and decisively. We appeal to people to report to MRA or Police if they have been contacted or are contacted by these fraudsters,” said Kapoloma.

So far three victims who were defrauded have provided witness statements to the Police. The suspect, Chitsulo, is in custody at Blantyre Police Station and will appear in Court soon. He faces charges of theft by trick which carries a maximum sentence of 3 years imprisonment with hard labour according to Section 321 of Malawi's penal code.