Police in Lilongwe have arrested two people for allegedly possessing counterfeit tickets of the Wafawafa Bonanza held at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe last weekend.
The suspects, Mustafa Kapatamoyo and William Wilesi from Mtandire Township in Lilongwe, were arrested on Sunday after a tip off from fans. Lilongwe Police publicist, Kingsley Dandaula, confirmed the arrest, adding that they were investigating the source of the tickets.
“After a tip off, we apprehended one suspect and he revealed that he got the tickets from his colleagues. We managed to follow up the other suspect and we arrested him on the same day. Investigations are on going,” Dandaula said.
The suspects were found with 40 photocopied tickets which they claimed to have sourced from stewards.
During the two-day bonanza, some K40.5 million (gross) was realised in gate revenue, a development which irked the four clubs—eventual winners Be Forward Wanderers, runners-up Kamuzu Barracks, third-placed Nyasa Big Bullets and fourth-positioned Silver Strikers.
Each team pocketed K2.6 million from the gross whereas stadium management received K10 million.
Counterfeit tickets were also spotted during the Chifundo Charity Shield involving Bullets and Wanderers last year.
Some officials were also implicated in the police preliminary report but the Football Association of Malawi (Fam) is yet to act on the matter despite instituting a commission of inquiry.
Gate management is prone to fraud in the country as some unscrupulous individuals have taken advantage of the porous system that denies clubs income.
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