Dawn Patrick’s Attorneys, KK Attorneys, and Chimowa & Associates implicated in massive ‘bee sting’ fraud scheme
Prominent law firms Dawn Patrick’s Attorneys, KK Attorneys, and Chimowa & Associates have been implicated in a massive fraud scheme involving villagers and medical personnel who allegedly conspired to use fabricated bee sting compensation claims to defraud Makandi Tea & Coffee Estates in Thyolo District.
The scandal, exposed by Mbeya Private Investigators, centers on a September 9, 2023, bee attack at Mpeni Market, where villagers and agents worked with unscrupulous legal and medical professionals to create false evidence and sue Makandi Tea Estate for negligence.
Dawn Patrick’s Attorneys, KK Attorneys and Chimowa &Associates filed the lawsuits against Makandi Tea & Coffee Estates on behalf of the “affected people” in Thyolo, seeking various reliefs following bee sting injuries they allegedly suffered due to the negligence of the defendant.
But through Mbeya investigators, Makandi Tea & Coffee Estates wanted, among other things, to establish the existence and identities of the plaintiffs and authenticity of their claims.
And following the discovery that the cases allegedly smack of fraudulent acts aimed at using legally established justice delivery institutions to defraud Makandi estate, Thyolo police swiftly moved in to arrest some people, who are currently answering various charges before Thyolo’s Second Grade Magistrate Court.
In the Blantyre Senior Resident Magistrate Court, the plaintiffs assert that they were attacked by a swarm of bees that had escaped from Makandi estate’s beehives on 9th September, 2023. The incident occurred at Mpeni Trading Centre/Market near Likangala Division, where people were conducting various business activities.
The plaintiffs contend that their injuries were mainly caused by the defendant’s negligence, particularly failure to secure the beehives for the safety of other people, the plaintiffs in particular.
They add that, among others, they were exposed to the risk of damage or injury which the defendant knew or ought to have known and that they were not assisted after the incident occurred.
Contrary findings
However, the Mbeya investigation report, which Nyasa Times has seen as it is part of the case documents before Thyolo’s Second Grade Magistrate Court, gives a totally different account of the whole incident.
The report acknowledges the bee stinging incident indeed occurred on 9 September, 2023, at a monthly market known as Chombo, which is held on or after a payday within Makandi’s Mpeni Estate in Thyolo.
However, the report states that on this day, a certain individual named Manuel Madiki, who had been drinking alcohol sold near the beehives on the said market day, deliberately provoked the bees, thereby causing them to randomly sting people.
It reads in part: “Upon our visit to the scene, it was observed that the beehives were actually placed deep within the bushes, away from the main business area.
“However, it was found that alcohol sellers and their customers at the market opt to conduct their transactions in hidden spots within the bushes, bringing them into close proximity to the beehives, as they did on this particular day”.
According to the report, there is in fact a clearly written warning sign at the site, requiring people to stay away from the beehives by at least 70 meters, contradicting assertions that the defendant failed to warn the plaintiffs.
On numerous suits against the defendant, the report reveals that all the claims were initiated by agents who traversed from village to village, collecting names of individuals to sue Makandi Tea Estate.
According to the investigation, the agents promised villagers that they would receive compensation, and upon hearing about money, many people registered their names.
“After collecting names, the agents went to legal houses and the lawyers actually filed the summons without even meeting the plaintiffs themselves or indeed verifying the alleged injuries.
“Some agents involved in this arrangement—Golden Kayiya, Chifuniro Samson and Feston Pemba—confirmed this procedure and their participation in the scheme”.
This finding, the report states, was further confirmed by the plaintiffs themselves, some of whom could not tell who their lawyers were. They are relying on the agents acting as middlemen and coordinating everything regarding these suits.
“Whilst many plaintiffs had not yet met the lawyers at the time of our investigations, some of them had confirmed to only have met lawyers once, when the matters were going for hearing at the court”.
The investigation further reveals that, in an effort to substantiate the alleged bee sting injuries, certain agents, with the assistance of medical practitioners at Thyolo District Hospital, produced fake health passports as evidence for trial.
These health passports were created to reflect as though the plaintiffs had visited the medical facility, although in reality, they had not, according to the investigation.
“The medical practitioners involved documented prescriptions and medical details in these health passports without examining the plaintiffs.
“To facilitate this, the agents paid the medical practitioners, who recorded the information without having conducted any actual medical assessments on the alleged patients.
The health passport prescriptions, were strikingly similar across different plaintiffs, further reveals the investigation.
“In most instances, it appeared that the prescribers were merely copying the same wording from one health passport to another and, to lend credibility in court, the individuals who prepared these dubious health passports, made sure to specify that the patient was bitten by bees at Mpeni Estate”.
After the health passports were produced, they were taken to lawyers in Blantyre to be used in claims herein against the defendant, says the investigation report.
“In as much as all the plaintiffs allege in their statement of claims to have been treated as outpatients at Thyolo District Hospital, we, as already stated, have found the said allegations for treatment to be false.
“The plaintiffs’ names do not appear in the hospital’s register or any records, on the day of the incident or the following days, to show that they indeed visited the facility for treatment following the bee sting incident”.
In light of fabricating evidence, notes the investigation’s findings, these individuals did not actually suffer the injuries alleged in their statements of claim.
“We find that these suits premised on a systematic attempt to defraud the defendant through the legal system.
“We observed that whilst it is possible to pursue a personal injury claim without medical evidence, the plaintiffs in this case lacked any other form of evidence and therefore opted to present falsified health passports, despite not having visited any hospital.
Actions and reactions
Thyolo police confirmed arresting three people so far, all from the district: (1) Golden kayiya, 26, from Maonga Village Traditional Authority (T/A) Mphuka (2) Chifuniro Samson, 23, from Maonga Village T/A Mphuka (3) Christopher Pemba, 24, from kalintulo Village T/A Mphuka.
According to Thyolo Police Spokesperson Rebecca Kashoti, the three, appearing before Thyolo’s Second Grade Magistrate Court, are facing charges of fraud other than false pretense, conspiracy to commit a felony and giving false information.
She promised to come back to Nyasa Times if there would be arrests and prosecution of more suspects.
Sangwani Hara, Secretary and Director for Makandi Tea and Coffee Estate Limited, only confirmed the company’s involvement in these matters currently in court, declining to comment further.
Mbeya Private Investigators Managing Partner, Golden Mbeya, refused to comment, citing confidentiality issues with his client.
Way forward
Among other important things, the Mbeya investigation report recommends Makandi Tea & Coffee Estates Limited to pursue the dismissal of all claims, observing that this action would “serve to protect the company from fraudulent claims and maintain the integrity of the judicial process”.
The report also condemns the conduct of the lawyers and law firms, urging Makandi estate to submit a formal complaint to the Malawi Law Society to do its own investigations and met out befitting disciplinary measures.
The lawyers representing the plaintiffs seriously failed to exercise due diligence, according to the report.
“The conduct of the lawyers in this matter reflects a serious breach of professional ethics and the code of conduct as guided by the Legal Education and Legal Practitioners Act.
“By pursuing claims based on fabricated evidence, without proper verification of the claims and obtaining instructions only through agents, the lawyers have shown a disregard for their ethical obligations, further casting doubt on the credibility of the plaintiffs’ allegations of bee sting injuries”
The report further recommend that Makandi submit a complaint to the management of Thyolo District Hospital, requesting an investigation into the involvement of their medical staff in this matter.
This step is necessary to ensure that the hospital staff involved are held accountable and that similar practices are prevented in the future, the report observes.
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