Ex-headteacher sent to prison for embezzling K1.8 m

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Court

The Makande Magistrate’s Court in Chikwawa has handed a prison sentence to a former headteacher for misappropriating money meant for 2017 Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examination fees.

Harry Luwemba, 49, who was a headteacher for Hope Christian Private Secondary School has been sentenced to 7 years in jail.

Luwemba embezzled money amounting to K1,821,110 after duping the school’s bursar.

CourtPolice Prosecutor Martin Thulu told the court that the headmaster took advantage of the absence of the school director and swindled the money between March and April 2017.

“When the director (of the school) returned from UK, he became suspicious after visiting Maneb (Malawi National Examination Board) offices and discovered that some names of students from the school were not found on the list.

“There were also further anomalies on the number of subjects paid by individual students such that he (the convict) trimmed some of these subjects,” narrated Thulu.

Luwemba was arrested after eight months on the run and charged with theft by servant which contravenes Section 286 of the Penal code.

In his submission, Prosecutor Thulu prayed for a stiff sentence saying the convict had committed a serious crime whose maximum sentence is 14 years in prison.

The prosecutor also said that the convict almost doomed the future of his students by swindling money meant for examination fees.

In his ruling, Second Grade Magistrate Cedric Chidika concurred with the state observing that the convict deserved a harsh sentence in a bid to deter others from committing similar offences.

He sentenced the convict to 7 years imprisonment with hard labour.

Luwemba hails from Mtopola Village in the area of Traditional Authority Masache in Chikwawa district.

 

 

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