…offers shifted from K150m to K100m to K50m, then nothing
…says Abida chased her with a gun
Years after former Malawi Congress Party vice-president Sidik Mia died from Covid-19, his second wife, Fatra Mia, has broken her silence on the bitter estate battle that followed, revealing how she faced threats, public attacks and shifting offers before walking away with nothing.
Mia, who was still young and in secondary school when her relationship with Sidik began, says she was later sent to South Africa as the relationship became a potential complication as Sidik entered government.
Speaking during an interview on the Face2Face Malawi Podcast, Fatra said Sidik’s death in 2020 opened a painful chapter that saw her face estate negotiations, threats and a public relations campaign that portrayed her as a “gold digger”.
Fatra said Sidik’s first wife, Abida Mia, knew about their relationship but opposed his decision to marry her.
“She knew everything about the relationship. She knew that Sidik had communicated his intention to marry me, but she was not okay with the marriage,” Fatra said.
Fatra said her relocation to South Africa was partly aimed at protecting Sidik’s reputation and avoiding complications as he moved into government.
“When Sidik was going into government, me being in Malawi could have created complications, so we had a conversation to move me out of the country,” she said.
‘Abida chased me with a gun’
Fatra also alleged that tensions over the relationship once escalated into a confrontation in which Abida chased her with a gun.
“She threatened to hurt me,” Fatra said.
According to Fatra, her father intervened and warned Abida that he would report the matter to police if she assaulted his daughter.
She said Abida later apologised and the situation temporarily calmed down.
Fatra said the two women later reached an understanding over her relationship with Sidik, although communication eventually broke down after another incident.
The estate battle
Fatra said she returned to Malawi after Sidik’s death seeking closure, but soon found herself at the centre of a battle over his estate and the future of their child.
She said the family initially offered her two houses in Area 43, Lilongwe, before the proposal changed into monetary offers.
According to Fatra, the figures shifted from K150 million to K100 million and later K50 million.
The changing offers raised questions for her, prompting her to seek legal advice and request that any proposal be put in writing.
“I had not approached them asking for money. They started making the offers,” she said.
Fatra said she was more concerned about securing her child’s future than benefiting personally from the estate.
“Personally, I didn’t care of whatever, because I have learned how to survive on my own as a person. But for me, the majority would be my baby. She should get support,” she said.
“Let her struggle in the other element of life. But in this element, which her dad had strength in, support her. Educate her until maybe college level, university level. She must be independent and happy, and the property where she will look to.”
She said refusing to rush into the offers resulted in her being labelled greedy.
The dispute later escalated, with Fatra alleging that she was threatened with the release of private audio recordings of arguments between her and Sidik if she refused to withdraw from the battle.
She said she told those threatening her to release the recordings because they did not define her or change what she was fighting for as a mother.
‘I was vulnerable’
Fatra said the estate dispute eventually spilled into the public arena, where she was subjected to what she described as a coordinated public relations campaign.
She said she was portrayed as a “gold digger” and that information about her assets and personal life was brought into the public domain to undermine her credibility.
At the time, she said she was grieving, financially vulnerable and emotionally and spiritually drained.
“I was vulnerable, mourning, emotionally and spiritually weak, and I didn’t have the money to fight the PR campaign,” she said.
Fatra said the pressure eventually drained her strength and forced her to choose between continuing the battle and preserving her sanity for her child.
“I started with strength to pursue truth, but I lost energy and courage in the process,” she said.
She ultimately withdrew from the battle.
Fatra also rejected claims that she settled the matter.
“There was no settlement,” she said. “I got nothing from the estate.”
However, she said she does not regret walking away empty-handed, arguing that the experience forced her to find another path.
“If I had accepted what they were offering me, I don’t think I would have had the drive that I have today,” she said.
‘My child may want closure’
Although Fatra says she has personally closed the chapter, she believes her child may one day want answers about what happened.
“She may want closure because she was part of the estate,” Fatra said.
She said she has spent years working on herself, forgiving those who hurt her and letting go of the past.
Turning attention into opportunity
With her child to support, Fatra said she began selling pizzas and samosas and ran a wellness spa while the dispute was still unfolding.
She said she allowed people who followed her during the controversy to remain on her social media platforms, and some eventually became clients.
Instead of blocking out the attention, she chose to use it to her advantage.
“I learned to leverage the situation,” she said.
Fatra said the controversy gave people an opportunity to discover her businesses, turning an experience she regarded as destructive into an unexpected source of opportunity.
She also recalled having only US$1,000 after Sidik’s death and described the pain of struggling to provide for her daughter, Patricia.
She recalled walking with her daughter when the child asked for something she wanted, but Fatra could not afford it.
She said the moment was particularly painful because her daughter’s father had been a billionaire, yet she was struggling to meet basic needs.
“I had to work because my child needed food,” she said.
A lesson for young women
Fatra said her experience also taught her how vulnerable young women can find themselves in difficult situations.
She now believes women need financial, emotional and spiritual independence to navigate life.
“You need financial independence, emotional independence, spiritual independence for you to manoeuvre life,” she said.
She said she wants to use her experience to empower young girls and help other women rise from difficult circumstances.
Fatra said despite being hurt and “burnt”, she has refused to become hardened.
“I was made dark, but I’m able to come out of that platform with the resilience and able to excel and help other women to get up there,” she said.
For Fatra, the story has also become one of forgiveness.
She said she no longer carries hatred towards those who hurt her and would be willing to have conversations with them.
“I don’t hate you. I love you, but I think this is where we have to draw our lines,” she said.
She described forgiveness as part of a continuing journey of healing.
