MEET MUSTAK CHOTIA: The Mafia behind the kidnapping of Malawians of Asian Origin

Members of the Asian community in Malawi have been living in fear in the last three months after the Shayona Cement shareholders kidnapping and subsequent freedom upon paying a huge ransom.

The whole jigsaw puzzle was being masterminded by Mustak Chotia a trader and property developer in Lilongwe.

Other than him Chotia has been working closely with some law enforcement officers to bring in Congolese, Somalians and Mozambicans nationals who have been targeting over twenty prosperous business men and families.

Chotia through his Mozambican, Congolese and Somalians kidnapping rough necks have been calling members of the Asian business community threatening them that they shall be kidnapped because all their movements and their locations plus vehicles are known.

In this case they are supposed to deposit a certain amount of money in an offshore account. This confusion has been going on and the Malawi Police service and the Ministry of Home Affairs had been notified and had put up a special team to investigate to the last letter so that the culprits are exposed.

Through a cyber-experts and a mobile phone guru all fingers have been pointing at Chotia and there is detailed intelligence and counterintelligence giving the investigations a stamp of approval.

In the meantime, some members of the Shayona Cement family are still stuck in Asia for fear of Chotia threats and kidnapping attempts.

Two weeks ago using some phony platforms on the Social Media Chotia was shifting the blame to Mr. Dipaki the owner of Sealand Investments.

Coincidentally, Dipaki is also a victim of kidnapping whereby his younger brother in 2018 was kidnapped right at his gate in area 9.

His brother Altae was kept for seven days within Lilongwe before he was left free at St Johns on the Blantyre Road.

The fact that Chotia was pushing the blame to Dipaki yet he knew that Dipaki was a victim it shows that his brothers kidnapping he had a hand in it.

Dipaki has been in the forefront trying to calm the situation involving these threats and attempts to kidnap members of the business community.

With this expose the police are supposed to interview Chotia so that he can show them members of his gang.

In Area 9 and Area 2 the police have been mounting security checks 24 hours around the clock so that the kidnappers cannot succeed and they have also been providing security to the business community at their various work places.

As if this is not enough the police have also been providing escort services and close protection.

Chotia when contacted by this reporter he was very rude and unwilling to speak saying he once served two years sentence at Maula Prison as such he cannot be threatened.

He explained that he does not grant interviews and cut the line.

The police public relations officer James Kadadzera was not ready to comment on the matter saying that investigations were still at its infancy as such any divulging of information will alert those implicated in these fiendish act.

Chotia who is also involved in cases of illegal land possession and cases of cross border human trafficking with his Somalian links is always at logger heads with fellow business men due to envy and
jealous.

But for him to resort to kidnapping it shows that he is using outside human resource and he has deadly intents.

In July 2020, seven people were arrested for stealing computer hard drives at Ministry of lands to conceal evidence of illegal land transactions. The seven include Khadba and Chotia.

Lilongwe Police Station spokesperson Joseph Kachikho even confirmed the arrest of the suspects