Prominent businessman and Agrizone International Trading (AZIT) Chief Executive Officer Matius Bonongwe is once again at the centre of a major fertilizer scandal after police arrested him over the alleged possession of 670 bags of suspected counterfeit NPK fertilizer branded with the Export Trading Group (ETG) logo.
The latest arrest adds to a growing list of legal troubles that continue to cast a long shadow over Bonongwe's business dealings and raise fresh questions about the integrity of Malawi's agricultural input supply chain.
Kanengo Police spokesperson Sub-Inspector Macfarlen Mseteka said detectives acted on intelligence that counterfeit fertilizer was being stored at Bonongwe's warehouse in Kanengo. A search allegedly uncovered 670 bags of the suspected fake fertilizer, believed to have been brought into Malawi from Mozambique.
Police say Bonongwe later implicated his associate, Timothy Matias, 26, during questioning, leading to Matias' arrest. The seized fertilizer has since been sent to the Malawi Bureau of Standards for laboratory analysis.
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Both men are expected to appear before court on charges of possessing counterfeit farm inputs once investigations are completed.
The allegations strike at the heart of Malawi's agriculture sector, where thousands of farmers depend on genuine fertilizer for their livelihoods. Counterfeit farm inputs have long been blamed for poor harvests, financial losses for farmers and threats to national food security.
For Bonongwe, however, this is not unfamiliar territory.
In November 2023, the Blantyre Senior Resident Magistrate's Court convicted him of receiving 600 bags of stolen fertilizer worth K22 million in a case that exposed a scheme involving a Farmers World truck driver.
Court records showed that driver Menard Natulu had been dispatched to Mozambique to collect fertilizer for Farmers World but instead diverted the consignment after allegedly conspiring with Bonongwe, who purchased all 600 bags.
After disposing of the fertilizer, Natulu abandoned the truck at Maoni in Blantyre before fleeing.
Police later tracked him down in Liwonde, where he reportedly confessed and implicated Bonongwe.
Following testimony from eight state witnesses, Senior Resident Magistrate Akya Mwanyongo ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond the defence's explanation, convicting both men and immediately revoking their bail.
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The latest allegations inevitably revive memories of that conviction and raise uncomfortable questions about whether lessons were ever learned.
Bonongwe's name has also surfaced in other high-profile controversies.
In 2020, he and his company, AZIT, became embroiled in a bitter dispute with former Vice President Everton Chimulirenji over an alleged K100 million debt linked to a failed maize supply deal involving ADMARC.
The fallout escalated dramatically when debt collectors acting on Bonongwe's behalf attempted to seize property at Chimulirenji's residence, triggering court battles and prompting civil society organisations to demand an Anti-Corruption Bureau investigation into the transaction.
Now, with another fertilizer-related case unfolding, Bonongwe finds himself back in police custody--this time facing allegations involving suspected counterfeit agricultural inputs.
As laboratory tests continue and prosecutors prepare their case, investigators will be under pressure to determine whether this was an isolated incident or part of a wider operation.
For Malawi's farmers--already grappling with soaring input costs and recurring food insecurity--the case is more than another courtroom drama. If the allegations are proven, it would represent another serious assault on the country's agricultural sector, where counterfeit fertilizer can destroy harvests, rob farmers of their investment and undermine national food security.
Both Bonongwe and Matias remain in custody as investigations continue.
