By Lovemore Lubinda
It has become almost a daily grind, in the streets and marketplaces across Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu, the same conversation keeps playing out.
Searching for a job can be a daunting task. A young man or woman, tired of sending CVs with no reply and followed only by a regret, meets someone who says they have “a connection.”
This person promises a job in government, in a bank, in an NGO, or even in the army. The only problem, they say, is that the list is almost full.
But if you can bring K100,000, or K200,000, so they claim, they can “facilitate” your name and promise to take your CV in person to the right person.
With that sense of having found a job ‘market messiah’, parents do not hesitate to sell a goat so they can buy a job for their son or daughter.
On the other side, students withdraw their tuition. A mother gives money meant for fertilizer, hoping a job will bring quick money instead of waiting to sell her harvest in the next marketing season.
Days later the phone goes off and is no longer reachable. The office address turns out to be fake. And it also come to light that the appointment letter with the government logo was printed in a backroom.
This sounds like fiction, but it is the trap that thousands of Malawians are falling into. And authorities are warning that it must stop.
At the end of the day, the message from authorities and life skills coaches is clear and direct: “No one has the right to take your money in exchange for a job.” Not if they own a company. Not if they claim to be related to a minister. Not if they say they sit on a recruitment panel at Capital Hill.
In Malawi, real jobs do not work like that. Government positions, council jobs, teaching posts, health jobs and vacancies in reputable companies are advertised in the Gazette, in newspapers, and on official websites.
You apply. You compete. You are interviewed. If you qualify, you get the job. At no stage are you asked to pay a “processing fee” or “transport for the boss.” The moment money is mentioned, it is not recruitment. It is theft.
Yet the scams continue because hope is expensive and jobs seem elusive. With unemployment biting hard, many young people feel they cannot afford to wait.
Fraudsters know this and lie in wait to pounce on unsuspecting prey. They target bus depots, churches, colleges and WhatsApp groups.
They wear suits, carry fake IDs, and speak with confidence. Some even produce forged letters with stamps to look official.
Last month in Mzuzu, a group of graduates paid a combined K2.8 million to a man who promised them positions with a donor project. The project did not exist. In Blantyre, another “agent” collected money from market vendors for supposed jobs at ESCOM. Police later found he was a bicycle repairman with no link to the company at all.
Most recently, we carried a story in which three people from Chikwawa and one from Blantyre were left counting losses after a man posing as “Dr. John Mukhito” swindled them out of K1,400,000 with a fake hospital job promise.
The victims are Alfred Chadauka, Moureen France, Chisomo David and Forget Chadauka. They have so far managed to recover only K388,000.
According to Alfred Chadauka, the suspect claimed to be a nephew of the Minister of Homeland Security and even showed an ID.
Believing him, Chadauka mobilized friends who were living in abject poverty. The suspect promised them jobs as hospital attendants at Balaka Hospital.
On August 10, “Dr. Nkhoma” arranged a meeting in Blantyre. There, he demanded more money for what he called “administration fees.” That’s when the victims became suspicious. They apprehended him and handed him over to Lunzu Police.
The suspect was remanded. According to the victims, all parties agreed he should refund the money.
While on police bail, he told officers he would sell his motorbike. He later sent K388,000 through Criminal Investigations Officer for Lunzu, Mr. Andrew Chikuse.
But days later, the nightmare continued. The suspect allegedly started threatening the victims on WhatsApp.
They reported back to police. Chadauka says Officer Chikuse only told them to “keep the messages for future reference.”
The Maravi Post tried to verify the suspect’s link to the Minister of Homeland Security and confirmed there is NO relationship at all.
The Minister has since called on Lunzu Police to act swiftly and bring all those connected to this scam to book so that justice prevails.
Maravi Post also made several attempts to get Lunzu Police’s side through PRO Jonathan Phillipo. He kept saying “he will come to us later.”
On Wednesday this week, he picked up the phone and promised to provide information “in a moment.” He never did.
To date, the suspect is believed to be at large. The victims say police have failed to act.
Apparently, the pain of these stories is not just the lost money. It is the lost time, the lost confidence, and the lost opportunities that money could have built into something real.
That is why officials are urging Malawians to change how they think about that kwacha in their pocket.
Instead of handing it to a stranger who promises a shortcut, it is better to put your money to wiser use.
Golden rule 1: You cannot pay for a job
In Malawi, no person has the legal or moral right to sell you employment. A real job is earned through application, competition and merit, not through envelopes passed under the table.
2: It is better to put your money to wiser use such as starting a small business
Instead of handing your hard-earned kwacha to a stranger who promises a shortcut, invest it in yourself. That K100,000 or K200,000 can become the foundation of something that feeds you for years.
Buy stock to start selling airtime, vegetables, second-hand clothes or mandasi. Get a tiller for your garden, buy two goats, or pay for a course in welding, tailoring, driving or computers.
A skill or a small business cannot disappear with a switched-off phone. It grows, it employs others, and it gives you dignity. A job bought with a bribe will never come. A business you build with your money will.
If you see an advert, apply directly. Go to the HR office yourself. Call the company’s main line, not the personal number the “agent” gave you.
Ask questions. Verify. And if anyone demands money, walk away and report them to police or call the ACB toll-free line 247. Your report might save the next person.
The pressure to find work is real. Bills do not wait. But a job bought with a bribe will never come. A job earned through skill, patience and the right process will last.
So to every Malawian reading this: guard your money. Do not give it to anyone claiming they can ‘buy you a job.’ Use it wisely.
Because the only person who can truly secure your future is you.
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