Tag Archives: Hendrix Laher

corruption, Malawi

ACB fails to prosecute Luthando Holdings owner Laher, Kubwimana Rwandese on citizenship fraud case in eight years

MaraviPost

LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s graft agency Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) faces public backlash for seating on corruption case involving Malawian and Rwandese nationals Hendrix Laher and Esili Kubwimana respectively for aiding and abetting public officers in abusing their offices to grant foreigners obtaining Malawian citizenship fraudulently.

Despite ACB arresting Laher, Luthando Holdings Limited owner and Kubwimana in March 2017, the duo remains on bail without being tried in the court.

According to court document, ACB acted on a tip-off and arrested Laher and Kubwimana Malawian and Rwandese in Lilongwe and Blantyre respectively.

ACB’ Senior Public Relations Officer, Egrita Ndala said Laher was suspected to have aided public officers to abuse their offices contrary to Section 35 of the Corrupt Practices Act.

“On 25th September, 2015, the Anti-Corruption Bureau received a complaint alleging that on 14th May, 2014, the then Chief Immigration Officer granted Malawi Citizenship to Rwandan Nationals using a file belonging to another foreign national.

“The Anti-Corruption Bureau instituted investigations and established that citizenships were granted to people who were not eligible,” said Ndala.

Kubwimana was suspected to have given false information to immigration officers when making applications for Business Resident Permit and Malawi citizenship contrary to Section 122 as read with Section 360 of Penal Code.

Despite duo taken to court while granting them bail, the case remains in the files, eight years down the line.

The development has attracted public backlash as to why eight years ACB is unable to prosecute Luher and Kubwimana.

But when contacted on Tuesday evening, July 8, 2025, ACB publicist Ndala said, “I’m not aware currently the status of this case. Give me time and will come back to you”.

Although, ACB has failed to prosecute the duo in eight years, the same bureau successfully tried former Homeland Security Minister Uladi Mussa.

Mussa was jailed five years and later President Lazarus Chakwera pardoned him.

Meanwhile, Laher is court fighting with the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) as to why the DPP Masauko Chamkakala withdrew criminal case against Paramount Holdings and its directors.

In March 2024, DPP withdrew the case arguing that there was no enough evidence to prosecute the accused that on June 27, 2025 Chief Resident Magistrate court in Lilongwe acquitted Paramount Holding Limited and directors.

Laher wants the court to prosecute Paramount Holdings and its directors that they be found guilty hoping that his Luthando Holdings remains Yamaha sole dealer in Malawi.

Luthando owner fighting with DPP on a dropped case comes after Yamaha Japanese International certified Paramount Holding Limited as Malawi’s sole dealer and distributor.

Law and order, Malawi, Opinion

Parley, Luthando should stop pushing DPP Chamkakala to resuscitate failed Paramount Holding’s Yamaha dealership case

Maravi Post Author

By Falles Kamanga

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-On March 19, 2024, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) withdrew criminal charges, which the office placed on three directors of Paramount Holdings Limited (PHL) and the company itself.

In a court notice addressing PHL directors and company, said the state had no case for them, hence withdrawing.

DPP Masauko Edwin Chamkakala hinted at that time that the state lacked sufficient evidence against PHL directors hence his office discontinued the case.

The development did not go well with Luthando Holdings and its partners who went to town mobilizing social media friends and some civil rights groupings rebuking DPP for the case withdrawal.

In the case, the claimant Hendrix Laher of Luthando Holdings accused Paramount Holdings of using forged documents to supply motorcycles to both public and private institutions which was a misleading claim considering that PHL is legally and sole distributor, and seller of Yamaha products to Malawi.

Luthando Holding has been using South Africa’s Tuning Fork (PTY) Limited illegally to win tenders by supplying Yamaha products in Malawi.

For starters, Japan Yamaha Corporation Limited has a specified list of legal dealers, distributors, importers, and sellers for a particular country. In Malawi, PHL was certified as a legal importer of Yamaha products.

Yamaha Japan in 2022 certified Paramount Holding as its sole official distributor and seller of Yamaha motorcycles and associated products.

According to Japan Yamaha dealership statutes, an agent of a different country cannot be used to supply its product to another country to avoid a monopoly of the business.

This is what Laher of Luthando Holdings has been operating by using South Africa’s Yamaha agent Tuning Fork (PTY) Limited to supply products in Malawi illegally.

Luthando’s business misconduct is against Japan Yamaha Corporation’s order to list legit dealers for its products globally: https://global.yamaha-motor.com/business/omdo/distributor/africa/

Considering all factors in this case: Luthando’s business misconduct by using the wrong agent to win tenders and PHL being legit Yamaha’s products sole distributor, seller, and importer to Malawi, compelled DPP Chamkakala to discontinue the matter in court that the state might be embarrassed at the end.

Knowing that he had lost the legal dealership on Yamaha products to Malawi, Laher continued to push for relevance and connived with Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs Chairperson Peter Dimba to resuscitate the case hence summoning DPP Chamkakala.

Luthando even took a court order stopping Yamaha Japan from recognizing PHL as the sole distributor, seller, and importer of its product to Malawi.

How on earth one could stop the owner of the products from recognizing their own trusted business partner or dealer.

Shamelessly, Luthando Holdings used Stansfield Motors’ limited name with a bogus address to obtain an injunction stopping Yamaha Motor Corporation from awarding sole dealership of Yamaha to Paramount Holdings.

This was revealed when different lawyers with default judgments against disbanded Stansfield Motors frocked the High Court to learn about the physical address of Stansfield Motors as presented to the High Court recently.

It was learned that it was the lawyers of Luthando Holdings who filed for the injunction using the bogus address for Stansfield Motors Limited that ceased to exist in 2019.

Despite Laher seeking public sympathy for Yamaha products dealership in Malawi, has failed to produce a legit or legal bidding certificate to back his claims while continues winning tenders by using the wrong South African agent.

In fact, it was PHL that was legal to drag Laher and Luthando to court for using the wrong agent to win public and private tenders on Yamaha products to Malawi.

Therefore, the constitution is very clear of the legal mandate of the DPP office on how criminal cases of the state must be handled.

If the office of the DPP feels any criminal case has no evidence to prove in court, there is no person who can push for resuscitating the matter for legal complications.

Laher, Dimba, and his committee have no legal grounds to push DPP to continue the case when it failed to commerce several times in court.

Do Luthando, and Dimba have evidence, and resources to resuscitate the matter and win the case in court?

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author not necessarily of The Maravi Post or Editor

Business, Malawi

Luthando Holdings’ Chief Hendrix Laher fails to show Yamaha’s dealership certificate

Maravi Post Reporter

BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)-The embattled Luthando Holdings has failed to show publicly a certificate as evidence of being Yamaha Motors’ products’ sole importer, distributor, and seller to Malawi.

In a questionnaire response sent to Luthando Holdings Director Hendrix Laher on Friday, January 19, 2024, enquiring about his authenticity claims of being Yamaha’s sole importer, Laher referred the paper to matters that are in court.

On Friday, Laher responded, “I will contact you later, going for meetings with our bankers”.

After several attempts to get his full feedback on the questionnaire on Saturday afternoon, Hendrix replied, “Just attend court sessions, all matters are in court”

Laher’s failure to produce the certificate comes barely two weeks after his firm, Luthando Holdings used Stansfield Motors limited name with a bogus address to obtain an injunction stopping Yamaha Motors Corporation from awarding the sole dealership of Yamaha to Paramount Holdings.

This publication understands that Luthando uses unauthorised dealers from South Africa to supply Yamaha products when he wins government contracts, including motors bike’s tendering.

According to Japan’s Yamaha Motors certification, a sole dealer is allowed to supply its products to one country.

This is the reason the
Japanese leading automobile manufacturer Yamaha Motors recently certified Paramount Holdings Limited (PHL) as the sole importer and seller of Yamaha products for Malawi.

A letter of authorization between Yahama and PHL signed by Ryuji Kuwano, Yamaha’s Group Manager for Africa Market Development Division and Overseas Market Development Operation Business Unit says the agreement is effective from November 2022.

According to the agreement, the listed products for the Malawi market include Yamaha motorcycles, outboard motors, water pump generators, spare parts, and others.

“Whereas YAMAHA MOTOR CO, LTD, who are official manufacturers of Yamaha products, having factories at 2500, Shingai, Iwata, Shizuoka, 438-8501, Japan, do hereby confirm that Paramount Holdings Limited, a private corporation having its principal place of business at P.O. BOX2736, Lilongwe, Malawi, is our officially appointed importer for the Yamaha Motorcycles, Outboard motors, Water pumps Generators, and spare parts for the territory of Malawi, under the terms and conditions of the agreement made between us and them on November 1, 2022”, reads part of agreement letter signed by Kuwano and which PHL has published in a local newspaper.

In his comment, one of the country’s economic commentators on condition of anonymity faulted Luthando for resorting to business dealership matters to court instead of pushing for partnership.

He argued further that partnership must be embraced with multi-national companies rather than fighting battles that can not yield anything.

“Let’s accept that several local companies do not have capacities to win tenders for big projects from the government. If local companies share the same vision with multinational firms, the best thing is to partner with them, not fighting, smearing campaigns, and propaganda.

“The best way Luthando could do was to partner with Paramount Holdings in business ventures not rushing to court to claim dealership when (Luthando) don’t have certification of it from Yamaha Motors of Japan”, the commentator offers advice to Laher.

Luthando Holdings fights against PHL for Yamaha products tenders is against President Lazarus Chakwera’s Tonse Alliance government calls for multinational companies to invest in Malawi

Chakwera on his foreign trips, has been coaxing multinational companies to come and invest in Malawi in a bid to create jobs for young people towards one million job attainment.