Lilongwe, Malawi– Police in Kanengo have arrested prominent businessman Matius Bonongwe, 33, and associate Timothy Matias, 26, for allegedly possessing 670 bags of counterfeit NPK fertilizer bearing the Export Trading Group (ETG) logo. According to Kanengo Police spokesperson Sub-Inspector Macfarlen Mseteka, detectives acted on intelligence that Bonongwe was storing the illicit stock at his warehouse in Kanengo. A search confirmed the counterfeit fertilizer, allegedly sourced from Mozambique. During questioning, Bonongwe reportedly implicated Matias, leading to his arrest. The seized consignment is undergoing laboratory analysis by the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS). Both men face charges of possessing counterfeit farm inputs and are expected to appear in court once paperwork is finalized. Bonongwe, is the CEO of Agrizone International Trading (AZIT), a company active in agricultural products trading. The firm has sponsored sports teams and positioned itself as a supporter of local farmers. This latest arrest is not Bonongwe’s first encounter with the law involving fertilizer. In November 2023, the Blantyre Senior Resident Magistrate’s Court convicted him of receiving 600 bags of stolen fertilizer valued at K22 million. The court heard that truck driver Menard Natulu was sent by his employer, Farmers World, to Mozambique to collect 600 bags of fertilizer. Instead of delivering the consignment, Natulu conspired with Bonongwe, who bought all 600 bags. Natulu then allegedly sold the fertilizer and dumped the truck at the Maoni site in Blantyre before going into hiding. Following intense investigations, Natulu was arrested in Liwonde, Machinga district, and confessed to the conspiracy. Bonongwe was subsequently arrested in Lilongwe. The state paraded eight witnesses. On November 2, 2023, Senior Resident Magistrate Akya Mwanyongo ruled that the prosecution’s evidence outweighed the defense, convicting both Bonongwe and Natulu. The court immediately revoked their bail. Additionally, Bonongwe and AZIT were embroiled in a high-profile 2020 business dispute with former Vice President Everton Chimulirenji. Bonongwe claimed Chimulirenji owed him K100 million related to a collapsed maize supply deal to ADMARC, allegedly facilitated during Chimulirenji’s time as Minister of Disaster Management Affairs. The matter escalated when debt collectors acting for Bonongwe attempted to seize property at Chimulirenji’s residence, prompting court injunction proceedings and calls from civil society for an Anti-Corruption Bureau investigation into the transaction. Both suspects in the latest case remain in custody as investigations continue. Post navigation The Shadow Over Kanengo: How a 2005 Land Deal for an Elite “Communal Village” Became a Two-Decade Nightmare of Dispossession, Family Succession, Probes, and Fresh Eviction Threats NBM Lights Up Mzuzu as SMEs Shine and Customers Take Centre Stage