50 Job Seekers Lose Savings in Fake NGO Scam

Police in Phalombe have arrested five individuals including a primary school teacher and a visually impaired man for allegedly defrauding 50 unsuspecting job seekers of large sums of money through a fake non-governmental organization.

Phalombe Police spokesperson Jimmy Kapanja said the suspects operated under the name Mulanje Vocational, a bogus NGO, and collected amounts ranging from K50,000 to K300,000 from each victim. They promised job placements in Norway and Kenya.

Kapanja added that the group even held an “orientation” session for the victims, which they themselves failed to manage convincingly. Their incompetence raised suspicion among the job seekers, ultimately leading to the arrest of the ringleader, Julius Misoya, a visually impaired man who posed as the organization’s founder.

The other suspects include Misoya’s alleged co-founder Jailosi Kaunda, Monjo Primary School teacher Francis Makawa, as well as Ned Kachitsa and Kennedy Hopeson.

All five have been charged with fraud and are expected to appear in court soon.