By Benadetta Chiwanda Mia:

In 2018, Jenifer Maini Mtima suffered fatal injuries in a minibus accident on her way to Lilongwe when the minibus, registration ZA 634, which was coming from the direction of Dedza, was involved in an accident at Nathenje.

She died a month later at Zomba General Hospital.

Her brother, Dickson Maini Mtima, sought compensation on behalf of their grieving family.

The police at Nathenje directed him to an “agent”, who, in turn, introduced him to private practice lawyers.

Dickson never met the assigned lawyer, though.

Instead, he was told that all communication would go through the agent.

Years passed. Nothing materialised.

Fearing that the statute of limitations would nullify the claim, he turned to Companion Insurance Claims Settling Agency in 2023.

Investigations revealed that Libertas General Insurance Company had already paid K4.5 million in 2019.

The agent and lawyer knew about the payment but none of the money had reached the bereaved family.

A desperate gamble

Then came a phone call in September 2024.

Dickson was summoned to Lilongwe. Traveling with his father, Evason John Maini, he met with the agent and the lawyer.

Their money, they were told, was finally ready. But first, Evason had to surrender his national identity card.

They were then informed that while K4.5 million had been paid, the lawyer and agent would take 40 percent as “legal fees”.

Another K600,000 was deducted as an additional charge for “retrieving the funds”.

They were left with K2.8 million.

Dickson’s father sat in silence the entire journey back to Zomba, his sorrow heavier than the weight of the cash in his pocket.

Another name, another scheme

Dickson Maini’s case is far from unique.

On the morning of January 6, 2025, Ephraim Austin, a vibrant 28-year-old, pedaled his bicycle taxi (kabaza) towards Lunzu Trading Centre, unaware that fate had already set a cruel trap.

A speeding vehicle struck him down.

The driver vanished, leaving Austin broken on the roadside. Good Samaritans rushed him to Mlambe Hospital before he was transferred to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, where he endured four agonising months of treatment.

He survived—but at the cost of his right leg. His Kabaza days were over.

Yet, the accident itself was not the greatest betrayal he would face.

Determined to seek justice, Austin’s family sought the services of a lawyer in Blantyre.

Their hope was that he would secure compensation from Prime Insurance Limited to help Austin rebuild his shattered life.

“In 2022, the lawyer took us to Prime Insurance, where he assured us that the company had agreed to pay K5.5 million,” Austin recalls. “After we left, he told us that the cheque would be ready in 45 days and handed us K6,000 for transport.”

That was the l