…. accused of grabbing cooking oil pressing machine
…bullied, threatened, called police on us
By The Investigator Magazine
If you want to know how hell looks like, try partnering with Kondwani Kachamba Ngwira and you will experience it, the family of Mambeleras have charged, asking everyone who supports him to plead with him to return their cooking oil pressing machine he took for free and is refusing to give them back.
Mrs Sylvia Mambelera from Blantyre in an exclusive interview with The Investigator Magazine narrated the ordeal she and her husband have undergone since they partnered with Kachamba Ngwira and agreed to plant their cooking oil pressing machine at Phalula in Balaka.
“Kondwani Kachamba Ngwira is going around telling people he bought a cooking oil pressing machine. He collected money from people and formed partnerships over my machine. I have been asking him to return it, what we have experienced is hell,” said Mrs Mambelera flanked by her husband Elias.
The Mambeleras who are based in Manja township in Blantyre bought the machine with their life savings in 2012 and planted it in the township where it run for three years before they failed to raise capital to sustain business.
“We planted it at Honourable (Jeromy) Waluza’s premises that’s where we were renting. We moved it home until 2019, when someone who knew us came and asked us if we could sale the machine to Kondwani Ngwira. I told him we cannot sale, this is an investment for our children,” said the woman, fighting back tears.
Kachamba Ngwira turned up and asked if he could rent it, but the family refused. He then offered partnership including a properly signed contract which would be signed by lawyers and that they would be able to work together.
“He offered us 20 percent of the partnership, saying he will be pumping millions to restore the machines and bring business. We went home and waited for a while, no contract came and he did not answer phone calls,” said Mambelera.
After a while Kachamba Ngwira turned up and said he had come to collect the machine to plant at Zalewa and afterwards they would proceed to sign the partnership contract. The family trusted his word and gave him two cooking oil pressing machines.
“I proceeded to my other business at DMI in Mangochi waiting for the signing of the agreement. One day my husband said Kachamba Ngwira had come home and gave him K400,000 to buy a motor and bolts for the machine. My husband is an engineer, he went to fix the machines,” explained Mrs Mambelera.
However, the machines could not operate at Zalewa in Neno as they required phase 3 power connection. This time Kachamba Ngwira found another place at Phalula in Balaka district.
Mr Mambelera went to fix the machine one press machine and the other waited for years for their new partner to fix as promised.
“We waited from 2019 to 2020 to sign the partnership and start the company. In 2020 my husband was called to try the machine as he (Kachamba Ngwira) had sourced some sunflower. My husband went and found 12 bags of sunflower. He also informed us that he had formed a cooperative to produce cooking oil. Despite being a partner I was not given the names of the cooperative members nor the 20% of the membership fees he collected as promised. He has never given me anything,” said the mother of three.
She narrated that another year elapsed without any progress but she followed his facebook posts which claimed that he had grown hundreds of hectares of sunflower. When the harvest season came, only three tons of sunflower arrived at Phalula.
They thought more was on the way as he had proclaimed on social media. No sunflower ever turned up again for the rest of the year.
“Next time he turned up was in 2022. He came with a man he introduced as Dr Sabao whom he said was Chairperson for the Cooperative. They took my husband to Phalula to assess the machines in preparation for the 2022 season.
They paid for spares in Lilongwe and he came back with one set of rings, one set of worms, one nut for the rings and bearings worth K1 040 000.00. My husband went to fit the new spares.
“He was asked to charge for the labour for the first time. At first, he refused as he had been working on the machines for three years for free. But Mr Ngwira insisted that the cooperatives will be paying for his labour. He charged K90,000 and he was paid,” explained the lady.
Mambelera said after fixing the machine, the husband left the team Kachamba Ngwira had assembled after pressing 500 litres of cooking oil. In total first group did press up to 12 drums of 200 litres, and another group followed with more than 12 drums of cooking oil.
“We expected as partners that we will be paid as the machines were being used. All these years, we have never received a dime. As partners we never got anything save for one time, we had tombstone unveiling he gave us K70,000 and helped my husband another time with K100,000.00 Aside these, we have never received anything from partnership,” she charged.
She said the family was later shocked to see Kachamba Ngwira announcing on Facebook that anyone could go to Phalula with Sunflower and have it pressed for free. She said that was when it was decided that the machines be recalled.
“He promised to pump millions and buy new machines which he did not. But using my machines he went around asking people to come and use my machine for free. I tried to call him to understand how this business will work. He ignored my calls. My machines were being used but there was nothing I was getting. I sent my husband to take our machines back,” she explained.
Immediately the guard at Phalula informed Kachamba Ngwira that Membelera was dismantling the machines, he suddenly called after avoiding the family for months. He offered to talk to Mr Mambelera who told him time to continue talking was gone and they were taking the machines back as nothing had come from them in four years of partnership.
“He tried calling me, I ignored him. He was a partner in four years I couldn’t reach. He run away from me every time I called him. After he ignored him, he sent an avalanche of threatening messages including that he will sue me for millions and it will my affect my family. I did not respond,” said Mambelera showing The Investigator Magazine the messages.
Kachamba Ngwira who has built his name using the word of mouth, suddenly fearing his lies were about to be exposed, called Phalula Police and lied that Mambelera, who is the legitimate owner of the machines, was stealing his own machine at Phalula.
“Two armed Police officers came. They told me Kachamba Ngwira had complained about “someone” trying to steal his machine. I told the place that he knows my name and I will not stop removing what was mine. I explained the whole story to the Police. They called him, he initially refused to come. The Police said then they will allow me to take the machine, he suddenly said he was coming. We met at Police,” said Mr Mambelera who said the experience of having armed Police officers escort him shocked him after years of working at the site.
“The people I had friended at Phalula during my sojourns to install or service machines told me Kachamba Ngwira had told them to tie me if I ever turned up again at the site. That is how heartless and cruel he is. He was mobilising people to mete mob justice over something I worked hard all my life to buy. Kachamba Ngwira cannot tell you where that machine came from, where I bought it, but here he was he was telling the Police that I was trying to steal my own sweat,” said Mr Mambelera recounting the ordeal.
When they reached Phalula Police Station, Kachamba Ngwira turned up boasting that he had spent “millions on the machines” and that Mrs Mambelera was a difficult woman who demanded money at every turn.
“He asked us to name the balance for the machine for him to pay us off. He said he had spent K2 million on the machines. I told him the machines were not for sale. I told him to remove his parts and return my machines,” said Mr Mambelera, who said at this point Kachamba Ngwira started ranting in front of the Police. He ordered my husband not to ever been found at the site ageing,” said Mr Mambelera, who was sent packing late at night.
Mrs Mambelera said she turned up at Police at Phalula to understand what was going on, Kachamba Ngwira offered that they meet in Blantyre. She asked the Police to get the exact location as last time she had gone to Development House she was told they had moved out long time ago.
“I told him I was no longer interested in meeting him as I was not sure about my security. Here I was struggling to get back my machines my family worked hard to procure. We are a struggling family. We bought those machines to help us. We thought when he was coming, he was an angel sent to help us. I could not run the machines because I did not have a working capital. But I lost my machine. After engaging a lawyer, we managed to get one machine which he did not put in spares.
“We are still struggling to get the last of our machine from him. I ask anyone with a conscience, anyone who was created by God, not just mentioning of God for convenience like Kachamba Ngwira, to help me and my family. We have been through four years of hell with this man. He lied to us, got our machine and paid us nothing for what we were promised. It pains us to see him on MBC promising fresh graduates that he has reserved a cooking oil pressing machine he does not own,” cried Mrs Mambelera.
She said they were now scared that with dozens of lawsuits as Kachamba Ngwira’s lies are catching up with him someone might confiscate the machine which is their own “sweat and life investment.”
“If Malawi has someone who can talk to this agent of hell, tell him all we want is our machine. I and my family have experienced what hell looks like, loosing our only possession to Kondwani Kachamba Ngwira. Please, please, help us to get what is ours back, that’s all we are asking, that is not too much for a man who pretends to be helping people to understand,” cried Mrs Mambelera.
According to the Investigator Magazine continues to seek comment from Mr Kachamba Ngwira on the myriad of allegations that he run a ponzi scheme that solicited funds from the public but did not deliver a single company downgrading the partnerships to clubs this week after our first story appeared.
Ngwira is yet to respond after briefly posting a response last week which he took down but we have kept a copy.
The Investigator Magazine has received tons of WhatsApp messages and emails from at least 67 Malawians who claim the self-styled industrial revolutionist scammed them to join partnerships that ranged from filling stations, to school, clinic, beach place, radio and television and what he termed as revolutionary farming.
Our investigations show that for every VIP member, one paid K25,000 to join a WhatsApp group and within the group they would select a partnership they want to join. For each partnership Kachamba Ngwira collected K50,000 for every project one joined claiming it was for administration of his Project Innovation Centre. All the mobile numbers and some of the PIC accounts were controlled by him.
On Saturday (last night) 25 people confirmed that they want pull out from the Revolutionary Farming Project and will be paid K75,000 worth of uncertified cooking oil, according to a meeting The Investigator Magazine attended clandestinely. We have obtained videos showing the unsanitary conditions the cooking oil is processed.
Earlier in the week partners in the filling station were asked to invest an additional K300,000 in the project as the costs had escalated. Many are seeking to pull out as well seeking to get their K300,000 paid as initial share capital.
Is Dr Kondwani Kachamba Ngwira the same man who once claimed to be a medical Doctor in Mzuzu?
In our May Edition of The Investigaor Magazine we will publish serious allegations that have emerged which we are investigating that there was a Dr Kondwani Kachamba Ngwira at Luwinga in Mzuzu trading as “Partners In Christ (PIC) clinic.
Seven of his patients all women who were treated “for serious confidential conditions” are planning another lawsuit. If you were treated at a Clinic near Mzuzu Auction Floors and your Health Passport has the name of the doctor answering by the same name, please get in touch +265999920866 on whatsApp or email editor@theinvestigator.news.
Mr Kondwani Kachamba Ngwira is free to issue a statement which we will publish in full in response to allegations these people are making crying for their money and equipment.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are those of the author not necessarily of The Maravi Post or Editor
