Experts want more ‘strength’ on Malawi passports
Malawi needs more robust identity verification and institutional accountability to stop foreign nationals from fraudulently obtaining Malawian passports, a legal expert says.
In an interview with the Malawi News Agency (Mana), legal expert Benedicto Kondowe said the reported cases underscore the need to improve verification procedures and coordination among institutions responsible for national registration and passport issuance.
“The greater concern may lie in weaknesses in verification, institutional coordination and internal controls,” he said.
Kondowe said that while Malawi has laws to address passport fraud, their effectiveness depends on enforcement and on the reliability of systems used to verify applicants’ identities and citizenship.
He added that public officers found to have knowingly assisted fraudulent passport applications could face criminal prosecution, disciplinary action and dismissal, depending on the evidence.
Kondowe called for improved information sharing between the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services and the National Registration Bureau (NRB), along with biometric verification, independent authentication of documents and regular integrity checks.
His comments follow disclosures by Immigration that more than 1,000 foreign nationals had been apprehended, 1,752 visa applications had been rejected, and 45 foreign nationals were suspected of attempting to fraudulently obtain Malawian passports. Two people have already been convicted in Blantyre.
The convicted individuals, Yasin Chenda Moses, a Zambian national, and Bornlose Onasimbo Ntinkha, a Tanzanian national, are awaiting deportation.
Immigration spokesperson Pasqually Zulu said nationals of Burundi and Rwanda had also been intercepted in connection with the suspected schemes.
In an interview with Mana, Zulu said investigations were continuing to determine whether other people, including Malawian citizens or public officers, were involved in the suspected fraudulent activities.
