Secondary school teacher sentenced to 2-years imprisonment for swindling examination fees

The First Grade Magistrate’s Court in Mzimba has on June 07, 2023 convicted and sentenced a 32-year old teacher at Hoho Community Day Secondary School, Maxwell Phiri, to 2-years imprisonment with hard labour for fraudulently obtaining Junior Certificate Examination (JCE) fees from 11 Form 2 students.

The court through prosecutor Seargent Reveland Gondwe heard that, the convict was responsible to collect funds from 22 candidates and dispatch to the Malawi National Examination Board (MANEB).

However the convict collected the funds and diverted a sum of K198,000 cash for personal use.

Prosecutor Gondwe added that, it was later discovered that 11 students from the said school were missing from the nominal roll and that the convict had failed to remit the collected funds to MANEB.

Appearing in court, Phiri who pleaded guilty to the charge of theft by servant asked for court’s leniency citing that he he would lose his job if being convicted.

In his submission Gondwe reminded the court that the convict had destroyed the future of the candidates and his inhumane actions had caused psychological torture to the students hence prayed for a custodial sentence.

Passing sentence, First Grade Magistrate Loness Gumbo concurred with the state hence sentenced him to 2-years imprisonment with hard labour as a deterrent to other would-be offenders.

Maxwell Phiri hails from Sumba Village, Traditional Authority Mnyanja in Kasungu District.