Court Fines Two Men K6 Million for Fuel Smuggling Attempt
Published on May 7, 2025 at 1:04 PM by Evance Kapito
A magistrate court sitting at Mtosa in Nkhotakota has convicted and fined two men a combined K6 million after they were caught in possession of 99 drums of liquid fuel, each with a 200-litre capacity, without proper authorization.
The two convicts, Emmanuel Matumba (first accused) and Juwawo Mndala (second accused), pleaded guilty to various charges relating to the possession, export, and transportation of fuel without licenses from the Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA).
Presiding over the case, Second Grade Magistrate Dumisani Katundu found Matumba guilty on three counts:
Possessing liquid fuel without authorization, Exporting fuel without a MERA licence, and Transporting and supplying fuel without a licence.
He was fined K2 million for each of the first two counts, and K1 million for the third, totaling K5 million.
Mndala, who pleaded guilty to transporting and supplying fuel without a licence, was fined K1 million.
Both men paid their fines in full.
In addition, the court ordered the forfeiture of the 99 fuel drums comprising 10 drums of diesel and 89 drums of petrol—to the Government of Malawi.
The court heard that the two were apprehended by authorities at Kanyangale Fishing Beach in Nkhotakota while attempting to smuggle the fuel into Mozambique.
The prosecution team included Police Prosecutor Auleri Phukaphuka and MERA legal counsel Christopher Ng’ambi, later joined by Tapiwa Msimuko from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Lilongwe.
