A suspect in the police recruitment scam, Chipiliro Kaliyopa, has rejected allegations that he collected K150,000 from each of 70 young people to help them join the Malawi Police Service.
Kaliyopa has since threatened to expose some Malawi Congress Party (MCP) senior members involved in the scam.
This is coming a week after some youths who are reportedly members of MCP youth league, were dumped at the police headquarters in Lilongwe after being sent back from Kanjedza police training school in Blantyre for being recruited illegally.
Some of the youths who were over 70 in number, claimed that they paid K150,000 each to Kaliyopa for their recruitment.
However, Kaliyopa has vehemently denied the allegations saying he was only helping the youths whom he said are suffering due to scarcity of jobs in the country and insists he never collected any money from the youths.
Kaliyopa who was speaking this today during a press briefing which he conducted in his home village, T/A Mazengera in Lilongwe, further labeled the saga as political and without disclosing the names, he implicated some MCP top officials.
“Pali ndale pa nkhani yonseyi, ndipo padakali pano sindiyankhula zambiri chifukwa ndikayankhula ambiri ayaluka. (There is politics involved in this issue and for now let me not speak much because if I do so, more will be exposed),” said Kaliyopa.
The suspect who is planning to hand himself over to the police, further revealed that the youths only paid a sum of k37,000 which he said was used for their transport to Kanjedza Police Training School in Blantyre and other logistics.
He further said, after the youths were sent back from the training school, he informed MCP officials through their Headquarters and said a Pastor from the headquarters responded by saying their concerns were sent to President Lazarus Chakwera who never responded to the letter.
Meanwhile, Loveness Kansulu who is one of the victims, has revealed that while they were at the Kanjedza, the school’s Deputy Commander Monica Mdala, approached them and started collecting their offer letters telling them the letters were fake.
Kansulu further said a man identified as Mr Maluwa from Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) also told the victims to return home saying the OPC would rearrange their recruitment.
“Anati tachulukanako ndiye tibwereko azatigawira kopita bwinobwino ku OPC ko, moti galimoto itatitenga ku Kanjedza tinadabwa yadzatisiya ku Area 3 Police osati ku OPC ndi momwe tinadabwa apolisi akutitenga sitetimenti, ena anapereka ena tinakana (They told us to go back because there were many of us and OPC would reallocate us. However, we were surprised that were taken to Area 3 Police and not OPC. Police at the station demanded our statements, some wrote their statements others refused),” said Kansulu.
Reports indicate that all this is happening following some internal rivalry in MCP as some reports indicate that the actual plans were to get these MCP youths into Malawi Police Service and without the rivalry, nothing could have been known.
