Second Grade Magistrates Court in Lilongwe has fined Harriet Banda and Jeremiah Mona the sum of K1.8 million each, with one million going to the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) as compensation.
The two committed the offence of selling goods (Malawi national team football jerseys) with a registered trademark falsely applied, contrary to section 52 (1) (b) of the Trademarks Act, 2018.
The first accused, Harriet Banda, was caught with 84 counterfeit Moto-branded replica jerseys, whilst the second accused, Jeremiah Mona, was found with 62 counterfeit replica jerseys, and both were found guilty of the offence
Malawi Police prosecutor Sub Inspector Kabazale requested a stiff punishment despite the two being first-time offenders because their actions caused financial loss to FAM, saying this should be a lesson for others committing similar offences.
He added that counterfeit products mostly enter the country illegally, therefore denying the government the opportunity to collect taxes, which are also used to support national teams.
In mitigation, the offenders asked the court to exercise leniency as they were further offenders. The maximum sentence for the offence is a K5 million fine and 10 years imprisonment with hard labour.
However, Second Grade Magistrate Austin Banda fined them K1,800,000 as compensation to the Association.
FAM Marketing and Broadcasting Manager Tulipo Mwenelupembe, who was present in court, said FAM will keep engaging the police and other government agencies to help curb the malpractice.
“We are pleased with judgment considering this is the first time such offenders have been arrested and prosecuted.
“The revenue from our merchandise contributes to the FAM revenue base, therefore making the Association more sustainable to support some national team activities. We would like to thank the Malawi Police Service for the excellent work done.”
Source: FAM
