State House Ushered with Fake Passports

Inexperience is not good at all for the nation, it will always haunt you today or the next day. Tonse Alliance Government insisted that they had fixed the problem with passports which have been created in recent years and that the new passport system is back on its course, however, the State House has been slapped in the face as some of the First Lady’s staff and advisors who were issued with new passports could not travel to Geneva, Switzerland.

What a big disappointment! But this sounds good and interesting indeed as the people who have been embarrassed are those right at State House and there’s no need for any other proof to demonstrate that things are indeed out of hand. Who is to blame? The whole government system shoulders the blame.

First Lady Monica Chakwera recently was in Geneva for official duties, but two of her aides and some staff could not make it after the Swiss Embassy in Pretoria rejected the new Malawi Passport.

The Immigration Department has now descended into chaos as senior managers have asked their boss to resign or be fired, but President Lazarus Chakwera seems to love the retired soldier more than the country as he is stuck with him for better or worse. Malawians are getting it worse.

Chakwera, who has been president since June 2020, told Parliament in February 2024 that he had given the immigration department three weeks to provide a temporary solution and resume the printing of passports. At the same event, he said he had told the hackers never to expect ransom from the Malawi government but this is June 2024, four months after the President’s speech, there’s still nothing to show on the ground to address the damage caused by all this passport scandal.

Malawi’s government suspended the issuing of passports in February 2024 following what the president said was a cyber-attack on the immigration service’s computer network. President Lazarus Chakwera told MPs that the targeting of the department amounted to a “serious national security breach”. He revealed that the hackers were asking for a ransom.

The hackers took over the country’s passport printing system. The Malawi government has restored the passport system, weeks after a cyber-attack.

Members of the public are advised to take note of the introduction of express and urgent passports in respect of new applicants who need to acquire a passport speedily at an extra cost of K68,500 for express passports which shall be produced within 2 days and K58,500 for urgent passports

Somalia, Libya, and Eritrea have the weakest passports in Africa, according to Henley & Partners. Somali citizens can access 36 destinations without a prior visa, while Libyan nationals can access 40 and Eritreans – 43. The three countries rank 99th, 98th, and 96th globally in that order.

Up until recently, Malawi passport holders enjoy visa-free access to 73 destinations worldwide. Our detailed guide provides comprehensive information on lists of destinations where Malawi passport holders can travel visa-free, and obtain visa-on-arrival, or eTA.

The Malawi passport ranking is due to the degree of global entry it guarantees to Malawian passport holders, who may travel visa-free to 73 countries, but who otherwise need a visa to access 129 countries globally. National passports are ranked according to how many countries a holder can access visa-free but with very sexy scenarios. However, it’s not very clear how the new Malawian passport is ranking today but for sure it is just as good as toilet tissue.

Passports are necessary if you’d like to travel abroad as they verify your identity and nationality. They grant the bearer safe passage and protection in a foreign land. You typically must present your passport several times at the airport if you are flying, and at the border if you are traveling by car but unfortunately, the new Malawian passport is just a useless piece of trash.