Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court has ordered 46-year-old Andrew Mwandira to pay a fine of K4 million for storage of petroleum products and failing to comply with a requirement by the authority.
State Prosecutor Inspector John Bottomani of Central West Region Police told the court that on November 5, 2026 at about 11:00 hours at Chinsapo 2 in Lilongwe, Mwandira was found with petrol and diesel valued at K5.5 million without a permit.
He pleaded guilty and asked both the court and the government to forgive him since he had been deceived by his friends into plying the illegal business.
But in their joint prosecution, Inspector Bottomani and Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) lawyer Clement Ng’ambi prayed for a stiffer penalty saying Mwandira demonstrated a blatant disregard of the law and welfare of the people by illegally keeping fuel which is highly inflammable and poses serious safety risks.
Passing his sentence, Senior Resident Magistrate Bracious Kondowe bought into the prosecution team’s plea.
He sentenced Mwandira to pay a fine of K2 million on the first count, or in default serve 15 months imprisonment with hard labour.
On the second count, Kondowe imposed a further K2 million fine or in default serve 15 months imprisonment.
The court further ordered that the fuel be forfeited and distributed to the Malawi Police Service and the Judiciary respectively.
Mwandira, a resident of Chinsapo originally from Mswamphira Village, Traditional Authority Mabulabo in Mzimba District, has since paid the fine to escape the jail term.
