Court Clears UNIMA Student Accused of Selling Fake HIV Cure
Published on January 13, 2026 at 4:30 PM by Edgar Naitha
A University of Malawi student, Godfrey Chingolo, has been cleared of all charges related to the alleged sale and promotion of a drug purported to cure HIV/AIDS after both the Magistrate Court and the High Court found the prosecution’s case to be unsupported by expert evidence.
Chingolo was arrested in 2024 by Zomba Police on allegations that he was trading in a substance known as Gomora and advertising it on WhatsApp and other social media platforms as a cure for HIV/AIDS. Police confiscated his mobile phone on suspicion that it was being used to promote the drug.
Following his arrest, Chingolo was charged with five counts before the Senior Resident Magistrate Court. The charges included selling medicines with misleading information, making false or misleading statements in connection with any medicine, obtaining money by false pretences, conspiracy to defraud, and advertising medicines without approval, all allegedly committed between January and May 2024.
During trial, the State called only one witness, who testified that Chingolo operated WhatsApp forums where he allegedly advertised Gomora as a cure for HIV/AIDS. The witness tendered a smartphone, screenshots of WhatsApp conversations, and a parcel containing drugs allegedly collected by the accused from a courier service.
However, under cross-examination, the witness conceded that he was not a medical expert, could not identify the nature of the drug presented in court, and was unaware whether the substance cured HIV/AIDS or whether HIV/AIDS has no cure.
He further confirmed that samples of the alleged drug had been sent for analysis, but results were not available at the time of trial.
