In what many are calling a shocking act of betrayal against some of Malawi's most vulnerable communities, the Karonga District Council (KDC) is under fire for secretly auctioning off a fully equipped ambulance, six emergency tricycles, and other essential medical equipment--assets that were donated to save lives, not to line pockets.
The auction, held last month at Karonga District Hospital (KDH), has sparked public fury and triggered demands for an immediate reversal and investigation. At the heart of the scandal is a Toyota Land Cruiser ambulance, donated under the 2015-2018 UK Aid Match (UKAM) project, and six emergency tricycles entrusted to rural health centers to ferry pregnant women to safety.
These assets were never meant to be touched, let alone sold.
"This is outright theft from the people," reads a scathing joint statement from concerned community groups, FOCUS, and Church and Society - Livingstonia Synod. "The ambulance and tricycles were donated to save lives, not to be paraded at secretive auctions for unknown buyers."
Funded by the UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and implemented by Christian Aid, FOCUS, and Adventist Health Services, the UKAM project reached over 400,000 pregnant women and newborns, slashing maternal and neonatal deaths by strengthening health systems across Karonga.
The now-sold assets included:
A fully equipped Toyota Land Cruiser ambulance (Reg. No. BU 7908), fitted with oxygen concentrators and emergency medical kits.
Six tricycles designated for remote clinics in Nyungwe, Fuliwa, Hara, Lwezga, Wiliro, and Kasoba--critical lifelines for expectant mothers in hard-to-reach areas.
Medical tools like wheelchairs, trolleys, and an ultrasound machine.
Secret Auction, No Consent, No Shame
What has infuriated stakeholders is the clandestine nature of the auction--done, according to sources, without community consultation or formal adherence to government disposal protocols.
"This is not just mismanagement--it's a slap in the face of every mother who depended on that ambulance. The tricycles belonged to the communities. This is state-sponsored sabotage of rural health," thundered Kossam Munthali, Executive Director of FOCUS.
He added that the tricycles were community-managed: fuelled, maintained, and operated locally--with no financial burden on government.
"Government's role in selling them is illegal and immoral. These were never theirs to sell," Munthali said.
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Call for Justice: Bring Back What Was Stolen
The statement demands a transparent stakeholder meeting to review whether legal disposal procedures were followed, and whether the sale--with no replacements in place--was justifiable. Most provocatively, it calls for:
Immediate return of all auctioned assets to the communities.
Public identification of buyers and explanation of how they acquired the items.
A full-scale investigation by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) into potential abuse of office and misappropriation of public health resources.
"Enough is enough," the statement declares. "We cannot allow councils to treat life-saving assets like scrap metal. Every day without that ambulance puts lives at risk."
As pressure mounts, all eyes are now on the Ministry of Health and law enforcement bodies to determine whether the Karonga District Council will be held accountable--or simply walk away, yet again, from another scandal buried in bureaucratic silence.
