Two forge, sell ID registration forms

Two men are in police for illegally photocopying and selling registration forms to community members during the national registration exercise in the border district of Mchinji.

Mchinji Police Station spokesperson Kaitano Lubrino told Malawi24 that they have arrested Armstrong Nyirenda, 27, and Lukiyasi Masanjula, 36.

He said police received a tip-off that Nyirenda was reproducing National Registration Bureau (NRB) registration forms and selling them at a price of K300 each.

“The tip went far alleging that foreigners were also able to access the photocopied forms on a higher amount,” Lubrino told Malawi24.

“In following up the case, officers from Mchinji Police Station instituted intensive investigations into the matter and finally arrested Nyirenda who owns a shop at Mikundi Trading Centre.”

It was later discovered that unsuspecting community members that were registering at Kalombo primary school registration centre had already bought forms from the suspect.

Police managed to recover some of the photocopied forms.

According to Lubrino, the other suspect was arrested at Namizana along the border of Malawi and Mozambique where police confiscated forged forms from him.

 

The duo will appear before court soon to answer a case under National Registration Act which prohibits any person from forging any document for the purposes of obtaining registration.

Upon conviction the two shall be liable to a fine of K1 million or imprisonment for five years.

Police say the conduct of the two would have given a chance to foreigners to register for the national identity cards. The law enforcers have since appealed to the general public to report to police any malpractice that may be encountered during the exercise.