A 22-year-old Zimbabwean national, Daryl Berry Edwards, has been fined and ordered for immediate deportation by the Blantyre Central Magistrate Court after pleading guilty to charges of obtaining Malawian identity documents through false declarations.
The case stems from an incident on June 27, when Edwards appeared at the Immigration Headquarters in Blantyre to renew a Malawian passport he fraudulently acquired in 2010. During the verification process, officers uncovered discrepancies that revealed he had also acquired a Malawian National Identity Card by providing false information.
According to court documents, Edwards was intercepted at the interview stage and handed over to the Immigration Compliance Unit. Following investigations, it was confirmed that he was born in Zimbabwe to Zimbabwean parents, making him ineligible for Malawian citizenship.
He was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts: furnishing false information to the National Registration Bureau to obtain a National ID, contrary to Section 43(a) of the National Registration Act, and making a false declaration to obtain a Malawian passport, contrary to Section 327 of the Penal Code.
Appearing before the court on Wednesday, July 3, Edwards admitted to the charges. The prosecution pushed for a stiff penalty to serve as a deterrent to others attempting to abuse Malawi’s national documentation system. The State also requested the cancellation of his ID and passport from government records.
Presiding magistrate imposed a fine of K130,000 and ordered the cancellation of all illegally obtained documents. The court further directed his immediate deportation.
According to Sergeant Memory Gongwa, Edwards has since paid the fine and deported to Zimbabwe Friday, July 4, 2025.
