The fallacy of maid centers and the criminality thereof:

Part 5:

The past few days have been sad for me and my family. From learning that the nanny we entrusted our daughter with was a convicted criminal with various offences ranging from theft to forging identities, to having to deal with the police and the unrepentant maid center owner. 

However, I was convinced I needed to share the story despite it opening my family to the public. Someone else needs to learn from my family's ordeal. So after doing part 1 and part 2 and posting them in the Kwamwena Valley WhatsApp groups, I got a lot of feedback which I will now share as part 5.

Essentially, in this part I just reproduce the feedback that came from people after reading part 1 and 2. Publishing everything here below without editing anything, just adding quotation marks at the beginning and end of each comment.

 

An old post from Facebook sent to us
after it became clear that Bridget has had past misdeeds

Reactions to the maid center fallacy story:

"Mwe Lesa these maids"

"Yaba 🙆🏽‍♀️."

"Makes sad reading. That's why some of the girls from these centers are arrogant and entitled because they know they will easily get a job  after days of quitting 😕"

"I am glad your efforts paid off."

"This makes sad reading"

"So sad 😞."

"Very sad and unfortunate. I can relate....the more you employ these people the more things you loose in your home."

"Very true actually it's best to get those recommended by someone you know. There will be history and someone can act as surety."

"Maid centers even kubazungu are very risky and you are fortunate if you get a reliable one."

"Eish.... she is. Serious criminal."

"This is the same center I got the one who locked my daughter up and run away.. the owner needs to do a serious back check of her maids…"

"Sorry for your experience but I must hand it to you that you are a very good writer. I enjoyed reading this ordeal. Infact, this needs to be packaged nicely and documented for future reference. If it was fiction, I would have loved for part three up to ten"

"Indeed, can't wait. Meanwhile, there are many lessons from this. I actually see this Maid Center everyday as it is very close to home."

"Yeah, very creative writer 👏. Writing a depressing story in a very lively way. Am sure part 3 to ..... Will be epic 😎"

"Rightly said. I was reading like am reading a novel. Haha. 

Am patiently waiting for part 3 and a possible part 4. 😂"

"The author should consider writing suspense fiction. Very engaging writing style."

"😄 yeah. He has made the ordeal enjoyable to read and learn from very easily"

"My first thought. Great storyteller. I rarely read read long write, but this reads like a novel 😀"

"Do you write for a living or something related? I'm sorry about your experience but I've enjoyed reading your narration"

"It's an eye opener, it reminds me of a time when my young sister narrated a story of  her workmate who was called by the police whilst at work that her maid was on the wanted list.she had actually gotten her from a maid center. She really panicked by the time she got home, she found her gone."

"I wish the children we have today can go with such traits excellent. I need  your Line and your wife."

"We got a maid from this place, the maid used to go with our Daughter to home shops to drink whenever we are at work."

"Useless maid centre. One maid went and a job within one without backing or defences from her previous employers. She's also been taking her friends there for the same"

"Was actually looking at it being turned into a screen play. Despite the ordeal, very good write up 👏👏👏👏."

"Yes. A very good writer indeed. The suspense was so tangible"

"@⁨Mr.A⁩. A suggestion worth pursuing my friend.  Very awakening piece."

"Even the advert itself ati child care for weeks and months walisungisha umwana ku day care kwati nakalimo wakutolafye... such places need council intervention to shut them, they pose a risk in our communities."

"Maid Centres are poorly regulated. All of them are not registered anywhere. A good number of maids are not trained contrary to what the people who ran these centres claim. As things stand, anyone can start a centre if he can identify some desperate girls and women looking for a job. These could be thieves, ex sex workers or any unsavoury characters. My advice to anyone looking for a maid is through recommendation by word of mouth. By the way this is how domestic workers were employed in the past. All these vuvuzelad maid centres need to be closed."

"Let's not use a blanket statement,not all are not registered.Genuinly registered/ regulated maid centers exist.Its unfortunate to label everyone vuvuzela  ,the language is too strong."

"I am curious to know how background checks are conducted on these girls. Do they just depend on the girls' word of mouth? A background check is a complicated process involving computer databases...finger prints sometimes....so l am truly curious."

"As true as that maybe,some of the categories you are naming can reform.i think its fair to make sure these maid centers do genuine  background checks,sex workers,criminals can reform.imagine if its your relative who was in one if these categories and has reformed yet is still stigmatized"

"It would help if maybe one of the maid centers can explain how they conduct their background checks. How do they go about it? It will go a long way to assure potential customers if the process is explained."

"If i was running a maid center i think police clearance is important,a bit expensive but that would ensure only genuine ones are emoloyed,bht also its hightime government introuduces a paedophile register."

"You have touched on an important point, the expense of thorough background checks, and also the existence of various registers to be checked against. So l suppose what l am trying to say is that it is a risk hiring people through these centers because there is no guarantee that a background check was conducted at all!"

"There are no background checks done. Once employed, someone who was on some antidepressants stopped taking the drugs.she went into relapse. She was identified at the psychatric ward as a regular patient, and the maid centre had no idea. Left the family traumatised having lived with such a person for some months."

"Truly sorry for your experience! I think we should all agree and conclude that hiring through these centers is the same as picking someone off the streets and bringing them in your home. The centers give us a false sense of safety."

"I read through this,  first and foremost, my attention was on how good your writing skills are...

This is a collective problem that needs to be sorted out by the entire community."

"Mwe Lesa these maids"

"Yaba 🙆🏽‍♀️."

"I am glad your efforts paid off."

"This makes sad reading"

"So sad 😞."

"Very sad and unfortunate. I can relate....the more you employ these people the more things you loose in your home."

"Very true actually it's best to get those recommended by someone you know. There will be history and someone can act as surety."

"Maid centers even kabazungu are very risky and you are fortunate if you get a reliable one."

"Eish.... she is. Serious criminal."

"This is the same center I got the one who locked my daughter up and run away.. the owner needs to do a serious back check of her maids…"

"Sorry for your experience but I must hand it to you that you are a very good writer. I enjoyed reading this ordeal. Infact, this needs to be packaged nicely and documented for future reference. If it was fiction, I would have loved for part three up to ten"

"Indeed, can't wait. Meanwhile, there are many lessons from this. I actually see this Maid Center everyday as it is very close to home."

"Yeah, very creative writer 👏. Writing a depressing story in a very lively way. Am sure part 3 to ..... Will be epic 😎"

"Rightly said. I was reading like am reading a novel. Haha. 

Am patiently waiting for part 3 and a possible part 4. 😂"

"The author should consider writing suspense fiction. Very engaging writing style."

"😄 yeah. He has made the ordeal enjoyable to read and learn from very easily"

"My first thought. Great storyteller. I rarely read read long write, but this reads like a novel 😀"

"Do you write for a living or something related? I'm sorry about your experience but I've enjoyed reading your narration"

"It's an eye opener, it reminds me of a time when my young sister narrated a story of  her workmate who was called by the police whilst at work that her maid was on the wanted list.she had actually gotten her from a maid center. She really panicked by the time she got home, she found her gone."

"I wish the children we have today can go with such traits excellent. I need  your Line and your wife."

"We got a maid from this place, the maid used to go with our Daughter to home shops to drink whenever we are at work."

"Useless maid centre. One maid went and a job within one without backing or defences from her previous employers. She's also been taking her friends there for the same"

"Was actually looking at it being turned into a screen play. Despite the ordeal, very good write up 👏👏👏👏."

"Yes. A very good writer indeed. The suspense was so tangible"

"@⁨Mr.A⁩. A suggestion worth pursuing my friend.  Very awakening piece."

"Even the advert itself ati child care for weeks and months walisungisha umwana ku day care kwati nakalimo wakutolafye... such places need council intervention to shut them, they pose a risk in our communities."

"Maid Centres are poorly regulated. All of them are not registered anywhere. A good number of maids are not trained contrary to what the people who ran these centres claim. As things stand, anyone can start a centre if he can identify some desperate girls and women looking for a job. These could be thieves, ex sex workers or any unsavoury characters. My advice to anyone looking for a maid is through recommendation by word of mouth. By the way this is how domestic workers were employed in the past. All these vuvuzelad maid centres need to be closed."

"Let's not use a blanket statement,not all are not registered.Genuinly registered/ regulated maid centers exist.Its unfortunate to label everyone vuvuzela  ,the language is too strong."

"I am curious to know how background checks are conducted on these girls. Do they just depend on the girls' word of mouth? A background check is a complicated process involving computer databases...finger prints sometimes....so l am truly curious."

"As true as that maybe,some of the categories you are naming can reform.i think its fair to make sure these maid centers do genuine  background checks,sex workers,criminals can reform.imagine if its your relative who was in one if these categories and has reformed yet is still stigmatized"

"It would help if maybe one of the maid centers can explain how they conduct their background checks. How do they go about it? It will go a long way to assure potential customers if the process is explained."

"If i was running a maid center i think police clearance is important,a bit expensive but that would ensure only genuine ones are emoloyed,bht also its hightime government introuduces a paedophile register."

"You have touched on an important point, the expense of thorough background checks, and also the existence of various registers to be checked against. So l suppose what l am trying to say is that it is a risk hiring people through these centers because there is no guarantee that a background check was conducted at all!"

"There are no background checks done. Once employed, someone who was on some antidepressants stopped taking the drugs.she went into relapse. She was identified at the psychatric ward as a regular patient, and the maid centre had no idea. Left the family traumatised having lived with such a person for some months."

"Truly sorry for your experience! I think we should all agree and conclude that hiring through these centers is the same as picking someone off the streets and bringing them in your home. The centers give us a false sense of safety."

"I read through this,  first and foremost, my attention was on how good your writing skills are...

This is a collective problem that needs to be sorted out by the entire community."

"It is I agree with you.

Once I called the center to get me a garden boy. They gave me a number to call. When I called the guy I started interviewing him just to discover he was just also called by the centre to report at my house. So I said,no I can't just have someone from the treet, would rather do it myself than go through the maid center and pay money."

"I once tried  this business awe It's note easy mwebantu I tried to get maids from the village and training them still  l had issues I closed after 3 months for fear of bn arrested. Let's just start getting family members to help."

"hmmm family members are the worst for me  better a stranger who has bn recommended with traceable contact"

"Thank you so much for the story. It is necessary for us to enforce professionalism in these maid centres, I wish you could post all of them on the same group, other centres will learn something.  

Bridget Centres

And Racheal Lyato but both not good. Useless"

"Am in need of a garden boy. Am even scared to hire one from the maid center. Anyone who can recommend someone, I will really appreciate. Thanks"

"Eagerly awaiting for all the parts of the story. I too got an addict of nsuko from there who would sleep most of the time."

The fallacy of maid centers and criminality thereof:

Part 4.

In the first three parts preceding this, I mentioned our maid of 11 years. She was recommended to us by our neighbor's maid. This was back in January 2013, just a month after my wife and I got married. Initially, she came in three days a week, then five days. Within six months, she had transitioned to a live-in maid. The rest, as they say, is history.

So, when we needed a nanny for our daughter, we realized we had little experience in finding one. We had only ever had one maid, for 11 years, and she came to us with a strong recommendation. Given this lack of experience, the idea of using a maid center greatly appealed to us.

Clemolis Maid Hub:

As residents of Meanwood Kwamwena Valley, my wife and I are active members of various community WhatsApp groups, including a neighborhood watch group, a road maintenance group, and the Kwamwena Makwebo group. It was in the latter group that we first encountered Clemolis Maid Center, after they posted an advertisement for their services.

Within two weeks, my wife had contacted the center and arranged to interview three candidates at their facility in Vorna Valley in early April 2024. One Sunday afternoon, she returned home with a young woman in her 20s named Rebecca. Within two hours, it was evident to everyone that Rebecca wouldn't last. Our daughter didn’t even warm up to her.

By 9 PM, while I was watching a football match and my wife was busy preparing for Monday morning, our daughter had dozed off. My wife came to take her from my arms and put her to bed. When she reached our daughter’s room, she found the new nanny, Rebecca, dead asleep. Rebecca had locked herself in the room and was snoring away on her very first day on the job.

I heard my wife knocking on the door and calling out in frustration, “Rebecca! Rebecca! Rebecca!”

I walked over to the bedroom door and joined my wife in knocking. The room was small, barely 4 × 5 square meters, but we knocked for nearly 10 minutes before Rebecca finally woke up and opened the door. This was her first day on the job, and already, her behavior was alarming. She had locked herself in, slept deeply, and showed no concern for how the child would fall asleep or who would put them to bed.

For the next three nights, my wife stayed in that room, and each morning, she left for work convinced that Rebecca wouldn’t last. By Wednesday evening, her prediction came true. My wife asked Rebecca to pack up and drove her back to the maid center. It was then we began to suspect that the center might be shortchanging us. Was Rebecca really a trained nanny, as we had been led to believe?

We didn't find another nanny until the weekend, when we finally settled on the now (in)famous Bridget Mwanza, also known as Mary Nonde, the runaway nanny. During this time, my wife shared her experiences with close friends, and the feedback about maid centers was overwhelmingly negative. Everyone had negative experiences. 

However, when Bridget arrived, she briefly managed to change our minds. Our daughter immediately warmed up to her. They played together, took long walks, and our daughter was suddenly introduced to the joys of the outdoors. She would cry and throw tantrums, demanding that Bridget take her outside.

Then, things began to disappear from the house. In retrospect, the first red flag was when my wife started missing money from her purse. One morning, while preparing for church, she asked me if I had taken 200 kwacha from her purse. She had set aside a specific amount to give at church but realized it was 200 kwacha short.

The realization hit us like a cold wave. Could it be Bridget? Doubts began to creep in, turning our initial trust into suspicion. The unsettling feeling that something was terribly wrong grew stronger, setting the stage for the dramatic unraveling that lay ahead.

Fast forward a month or two later, everything becomes clear that Bridget Mwanza had been stealing. My wife and I took steps to inform the maid center about this development but the maid center showed no interest at all. The next morning they were putting up Bridget Mwanza to go to a new client.

At the maid center, when my wife and I went looking for the run away Bridget, we sat at a hastily assembled reception. On the eastern side of the room were bags, a heap of back packs belongings for the maids in that house. On the western side was a door to what seemed to have been a kitchen. The door was briefly opened as one of the maids came out to bring Bridget Mwanza's bag. Inside the room were a number of maids seated on the floor having a meal and they all seemed like a bunch of cult members awaiting for their saviour.

On the gate of the center were words written, "Clemolis maid Hub"

"Trained maids, nannies, gardeners, care givers etc."

On the other side on the gate it was written "baby day care"

Inside the premises, nothing looked like a place where training happens. Not less for maids and care givers. For starters it looked unkempt. It looked like one of those untidy one bedroom apartments depicted in movies where low budget prostitutes reside.

 Possible Collusion:

The actions of the maid center since the whole Bridget Mwanza debacle has been very suspicious. But when the proprietor of the center called me on Sunday morning asking me to pull down my posts about the fallacy of maid centers and the criminality thereof:.

The proprietor of Clemolis maid Hub got my number from Kwamwena Makwebo WhatsApp group where I had posted parts 1 and 2 to alert others about the shoddy services of the center. This call was made to ask me to pull down the posts, especially one where I used an image of their premises. She claimed the premise is owned by someone else who has leased it out to her and that landlord is not happy with the post and this might have "repercussions" on me.

This phone call was laced with threats. Instead of a call to apologize and give me assurance that in the future she would do better. Instead she just gave excuses as to why she couldn't act about Bridget why she didn't show up at the police station when the police asked her to do so, and of course the threats therein.

Clearly this lady (I didn't ask her name) and her business are jokers. You put people that paid for a service, in harm's way and all you can do is issue implicit threats. She has no ounce of responsibility. 

As a business owner one needs to learn to take responsibility. You lose nothing by taking responsibility and addressing the wrongs. In fact you gain more doing that.

Otherwise we shall be led to believe that the business owner is colluding with her thieving maids. When they get caught, they just move such a one to the next client.

The lack of accountability and transparency at Clemolis Maid Hub is deeply troubling. The proprietor’s dismissive attitude and refusal to address the serious allegations against their staff not only undermines the trust of their clients but also raises significant ethical concerns. A business that deals with the safety and well-being of families must adhere to the highest standards of integrity and responsibility. Instead, Clemolis Maid Hub’s actions suggest a blatant disregard for these principles, prioritizing a quick buck  over the safety and satisfaction of their clients.

Moreover, the absence of proper training and the unkempt state of the premises further highlight the need for stringent regulations and oversight in this industry. It is imperative that maid centers are held to rigorous standards to ensure they provide competent and trustworthy services. The authorities must step in to enforce these standards and protect consumers from such negligent practices. Without proper regulation, unscrupulous businesses like Clemolis Maid Hub will continue to operate unchecked, putting more families at risk.

The fallacy of maid centers and criminality thereof:*

Part 3.

On the morning of Friday, July 5th, when my wife noticed the unopened perfumes missing, a chilling realization crept over me. A kleptomaniac was on the loose, a suspicion that had been gnawing at me for some time. Little did I know just how dramatically everything would unravel in the hours ahead. I wasn’t prepared for the shock and awe that awaited me at Lilayi, the home of Bridget Mwanza’s sister, our runaway nanny.

As we arrived and I stepped out of the car, an eerie silence hung in the air. The moment I set foot on the driveway, a sense of foreboding washed over me. My heart pounded as I approached the door. I barely had time to retract my hand after greeting the couple and introducing myself and my wife when the man’s words hit me like a thunderclap.

“This is a case of a repeat offender,” he said, his tone grave. “One with an uncontrollable urge to take anything within her sight at all times. Clearly, a kleptomaniac.”

His revelation struck me to the core. My worst fears were confirmed in an instant, and the reality of our situation became terrifyingly clear.

 The recovery:

The drive from Salama Park to Lilayi was a turbulent blend of shock, expectation, and foreboding, as if the world itself were conspiring against us. We had entrusted this woman with the care of our child. If she could break into our bedroom and steal items hidden away in drawers, what else might she be capable of? What horrors awaited us in Lilayi?

The second sister in Lilayi had hinted that Bridget, our runaway nanny, had been there with stolen items, including perfumes and phones. We were on a mission to uncover the truth, but the further we drove, the more it seemed as though the truth was slipping further from our grasp. Despite our attempts to get the GPS coordinates to her house, we had received nothing but silence.

Then, instead of the GPS coordinates, a call came through. We described our location, and soon enough, we met up with her sister. She led us to her home, and as we arrived, her husband pulled in behind us. The tension was palpable as they escorted us inside.

Once inside, we recounted our ordeal, each word heavy with the weight of our fears. The couple exchanged knowing glances before speaking.

Bridget had been there earlier, they confirmed, carrying a suspiciously large number of items. Alarm bells had rung for them immediately. They revealed that Bridget was a convicted criminal, having served time for theft. In her previous job, she had walked away with a plasma TV, and her crimes extended to the Copperbelt, where she was most likely still wanted. She had even stolen from a European employer when working as a maid.

With every word, the gravity of the situation deepened, and the truth, once hidden in the shadows, now loomed before us in stark, terrifying clarity.

We were asked what name she she had used. It was then at this point we were told of the alias identity of Mary Nonde, complete with a national registration card ID. We had a brief chat with the couple and there after they brought out the suspected stolen items left by Bridget at their home. 

One by one we started to go through the items. There were items we had suspected to be missing. There were many other items we never even realized had been missing. Among the items recovered were 2 phones, 2 perfumes, 2 branded shirts, a branded winter jacket, a branded winter reflector jacket, a pair of shoes and a thermometer. The sister then confirmed that as Bridget left their home, she walked out clad in another branded winter jacket, and was holding a tablet in her hands.

Our discussion with the couple lasted nearly an hour and we said our goodbyes.

We drove straight to Meanwood Kwamwena Valley police where we found Bridget seated on a bench outside, just beside the entrance to the station. Apparently Bridget had gone there to allegedly report my wife and I for searching her bag in her absence. This was quickly corrected, as the search was conducted by the representative of the maid center while we looked on as per the earlier instructions given by Police. At this point I asked Bridget if she had stolen anything and she denied.

Well, I quickly informed the officers on duty that we had recovered some items from the home of her sister and I had the items in the car. One of the officers accompanied me to the car and we picked up the items.

Bridget Mwanza, is currently in Police custody and a docket was opened pending further investigation and an appearance in court. 

Screenshot of the picture and text sent to my wife's friend listing
a now 27 years old  Bridget as one of the available maids

 The Maid center:

I have no kind words for this sham of a maid center called Clemolis. In fact the behavior of the  representatives and the proprietor has somewhat made me question if these maid centers actually collude with their maids in crimes committed.

The center was first informed of Bridget Mwanza's misdeeds in the afternoon of Friday 5th July. My wife had reported to a lady called Harriet, based in Vorna Valley. This lady then mentioned that as far as she was concerned Bridget was back at the center, but the one in Kwamwena. According to her, this happened on Wednesday. Later that day on Friday when my wife went to report at the Police, again the maid center was informed. 

We do not expect that the maid center will engage in complex background checks or even biometric finger print clearance etc. However, when someone has made a report, the least they could have done is take such a person off their list until resolution of the case. 

Part 4 narrows down on everything to do with the maid center, their registration, how the maid center premises are organized, and the interaction I had with someone that is supposedly the proprietor

End.

The fallacy of maid centers and criminality thereof:

Part 2.

 

Here we go. 

As a maid center, you give a client a maid, then she rocks up at one of your centers claiming to have been fired, drops some bags and goes away. You are not bothered. 

You still have contacts to your client. As a business, isn't it in your best interests to contact your client to try and learn what went wrong? Why was she fired? Does the client need another maid? Is it to do with something that you do not teach in your curriculum to prepare these maids? Anything, just any question you can ask yourselves. 

Granted maids get fired often, but as professionals running a business registered with PACRA, and maybe possibly being regulated by some body, where is your sense of responsibility? 

Okay fine, let's assume she was fired. Doesn't someone rocking up and leaving things and going back not ring a bell? 

The worst part. You haven't asked any questions, 2 or 3 days later your client calls you and informs you that this person has run away and right now she has been reported to Police for theft. You actually confirm that the same person has been to one of your premises claiming to have been fired and is currently up for the next client (edit to read victim). 

The very next day a new prospective client gets in touch with you and without a wink she is included as one of the available maids. 

Wow. Just wow. Not a chance. 

Anyway the narration continues from where part 1 ended. 

So on the morning of Saturday 6th July 2024, my wife's friend got in touch with the maid center looking for a maid, and she was given a list of available maids and among them Bridget Mwanza aged 27. With her picture to go with. 

Wait 27? Three months ago when she was given to us, she was 22. Three months later she is 27. Just how? 

The age lies aside, but why is someone reported to a maid center for theft and only missed police detention by a whisker of technicality, still active on queue for 'deployment' to another home? 

Screen shot of the initial picture and text sent by the center

This did not sit down well with us. So we went back to the Police station. This time I accompanied my wife and we found a female officer on duty who questioned why the nanny was not detained. She immediately sent us in to see the officer in charge and we obliged. We explained to the officer in charge what happened the previous day and that we wanted the police to conduct a search on this girl especially that she had moved some things earlier in the week. The maid center she had moved the things to was on the other side of the road less than 300meters right across from the station we could see it, since the church is still being built so it is a cleared piece of land with no buildings. 

The officer in charge asked us to go there ask the maid center people to search her bags as we look on. When we got to the maid center, we were informed that Bridget had gone to Salama Park where her sister lived and she carried a bag and a plastic. She also had gone to buy a new bag earlier. 

So we informed the person in charge there about what had transpired. I demanded to speak to the proprietor. She called someone, but it wasn't the proprietor, instead in was another lady manning the other subsidiary in Vorna Valley. She put her on loud speaker. The lady from Vorna Valley spoke about her surprise to see Bridget in their groups being put as available since Wednesday. She had not head anything from the client about that. Then more surprised about the police case when she was called by my wife while at the police. 

At this point, I realized we were not making progress so again I asked that the proprietor be called. Once she was called, my wife spoke first and queried her as to why Bridget was being made available with a pending police issue. Her response was that she was put up as available on the basis that she went back claiming to have been fired. 

I interjected and asked her why after the police issue the previous day the same maid was still advertised. Their answer was still because Bridget went to claim she was fired. I realized that we weren't making any progress, so I told them we had just come from the police and they asked us to ask them to conduct a search on the belongings for Bridget. The proprietor agreed and asked her employee to oblige and carry out the search.

"Martha, baleke ba client ba seche (sic), chosani ma bag yake," she said, as I interjected to tell them that they conduct the search themselves as we just look on. 

The search was swiftly performed and none of our belongings were found. But something else telling had happened. Bridget had left much earlier with other bags and claimed to have headed to Salama Park. 

Fortunate enough, after a month with us, my wife had released Bridget for a weekend and she insisted on dropping her where she would be going. It was indeed in Salama Park at an unfinished house where it seemed someone living there was a caretaker. My wife couldn't forget the house as a niece of ours lives just in the next street. 

So we followed to Salama Park. When we got there, a girl in her early 20's came out and denied knowing anyone called Bridget Mwanza. A man who claimed to have been visiting was sat down and said he too didn't know any Bridget. We asked for the person that lived there and we were told she was having her lunch but would come as soon as they were done with their meal. 

Few minutes later a lady who we assumed works for one of the retail chain stores came out wearing a T-shit for the store. In fact, Bridget had once told my wife a story that her brother in law runs the said chain store. Once we asked her about Bridget the lady agreed to knowing her, that she was her sister, but said she had not seen her in over a year. The last part shocked my wife. This is the same place she had dropped Bridget at. Bridget had even greeted the kids by name, as soon as she had disembarked from the car. The lady even agreed to the mentioned names of the children as the actual names of her children, but still claimed to have never seen Bridget. Not that day on 6th July, not any other day in the last 6 months but more than a year ago. 

We were in shock because while Bridget lived with us the last 3 months, she had been released  more than twice to go and visit her family over weekends and each time she claimed to have gone to Salama Park at her sister's place. My wife even dropping her once. At this point, the sister said maybe as soon as she was dropped she set off for her other sister in "Libala". She placed a call to her other sister whom we could hear saying she had not seen Bridget for about a year equally but suddenly turned up that morning. The 2nd sister requested that we be put on the call. As soon as my wife started to explain that Bridget worked as a domestic worker at our home and had just run off the previous day, the sister asked, "what did she take?" 

"Perfume and phones," my wife replied. 

The sister without wasting time just stated, "bwelani viliko". Apparently Bridget turned up there earlier after not being seen for a long time and she arrived with a plastic full of items among them phones, tablet, branded clothes for the company I work for, and shoes among other things. 

Look out for part 3. 

In part 3, I narrate how we eventually recovered some of the items, meeting the sister and her husband and the chat we had with them. How they told us about her previous thefts from several places including one for household goods including a plasma TV set that got her arrested and sentenced to jail where she served time. They also narrated to us about how alias, Mary Nonde, an identity she stole from someone and had an NRC done in that name and even store grade 12 school results for the same and was using those 6 points results to get jobs in that name. 

Part 3 is perhaps the most 'jaw dropping' because it is quite graphic and very detailed. From how some of the items were recovered to how we then got her now arrested and detained. And most importantly how I link the maid center in perpetuating these crimes. The proprietor of the maid center was on the way to the police when I started typing parts 1 and 2 on my phone while seated at the police station as my wife was giving her statement. I left the station with my wife, went to bed, and at some point lost sleep and started to type part 3. Part 3 is done she hasn't yet arrived. If I pick anything from her in our one on one interaction, I will probably do a part 4. 

For now look out for the final and most shocking part 3. The recovery and eventual arrest of Bridget the Nanny and her litany of past crimes.

The fallacy of maid centers and criminality thereof:

 Part 1:

To avoid a long write up, I will split this into parts. The short of it is that I have come to the realization that maid centers (at least the one my family dealt with) are nothing but the center of criminality. Possibly in collusion with criminals.

My family literally paid this center to give us a convicted criminal. When we started missing things in the house it was from the masters bedroom. Deep in the hidden crevices of our bedroom. A tablet, 2 phones and expensive perfumes and we knew something was wrong.

Entrance to Clemolis Kwamwena Valley Maid Center

With our elder son (15) in boarding School, my niece (20) out of town for School post grade 12, in the house was my wife, 4 years old daughter, the maid of 11years (40) and a dedicated nanny for our daughter whom we got 3 months ago (22 as was given from the maid center).

On Friday morning of 5th July 2024, everything came to a headstop while preparing to go for work when my wife realized some of her unused perfumes missing. I left and went to the office while she quickly searched both the maids and nothing was found on them. 

However, at 15hrs, my wife received a call from our maid of 11years, that the nanny had packed her things and gone away. She quickly put a call to the center where we had got her from. The center is based in Vorna Valley and has a branch in Meanwood Kwamwena Valley near Zesco substation and right opposite the UCZ church being built.

The representative of the maid center responded that this girl, her name Bridget Mwanza, had been to the maid center earlier in the week where she informed them that she had been let go and her home was far so she left some bags and some plastic bags there on Wednesday. Then on Friday she returned to the same center with the rest of her belongings.

Now, this is a someone who had never been fired, my wife and her actually spent most of the day with her on Thursday as we had a hospital visit for our daughter and as the nanny, we went her. 

Having leant of her disappearance from home, my wife went straight to Kwamwena police post after work to report the issue and as she was driving to the station out of nowhere the nanny, Bridget is also coming from the shop near the station so she was called at the station. 

At the station she denied having stolen anything from the house and indicated that in fact there was also another maid in the house. The police then told my wife that in order to detain Bridget, they had to detain the other maid as well because as a suspects as at that time the presumption of innocent until proven guilty stood. 

My wife contacted me and I said if that be the case then let them not detain either of them as my gut feeling told me Bridget was guilty. We were not going to let someone we have been with for 11 years as a stay in maid, go through police detention for the sins of another. My wife then informed the maid center about everything that transpired at the police.

On Saturday, morning of the 6th of July my wife called one of her work mates, gave her contacts to the maid center and asked the friend to pretend to be in search of a maid.

This friend got in touch with the center, and voilà, they gave her a list of available maids and Bridget was on the list. 

Just how? Someone just reported for theft? You want her to go to another home. Not before everything is settled. 

Part 2 will shock you.

NHIMA: Why we need to support it?

Universal Health Coverage (UHC), is top of the global health policy agenda and has been adopted as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Public medical care in Zambia is free or heavily subsidized, which has led to a drop in quality of care given. Lack of medicines, indifferent and uncaring  behaviour by frustrated care givers and health professional the order of the day. Overtime, as the population has grown, it hasn't been possible to fully subsidize the sector. 

In 2018, Zambia passed a national health insurance (NHI) law, creating the National Health Insurance Management Authority (NHIMA). This move towards mandatory health insurance was a significant step towards universal health coverage in Zambia. In this article, we will compare the introduction of mandatory health insurance in Zambia with other public health insurance systems such as ACA, NHS, and NHI, and discuss the pros and cons of NHIMA.

The National Health Insurance (NHI) in South Africa is a health financing system designed to provide access to quality, affordable personal health services to all South Africans, regardless of their socio-economic status. Similarly, the NHS in the UK is a publicly funded healthcare system that provides free access to medical services to all UK citizens. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, is a US law designed to improve the affordability and quality of health insurance in the United States. All three systems aim to provide affordable healthcare for all citizens.

One of the main advantages of mandatory health insurance is that it allows access to healthcare for everyone, regardless of their financial situation. This is particularly important in countries where poverty is widespread, and people cannot afford to pay for medical care out of pocket. In Zambia, the introduction of mandatory health insurance means that everyone will have access to basic health services, regardless of their ability to pay.

Another advantage of mandatory health insurance is that it helps to ensure that the costs of healthcare are shared among the population. This means that those who are healthier and use fewer medical services contribute to the cost of healthcare for those who are sicker and require more medical care. This principle of solidarity is at the heart of all public health insurance systems.

However, there are also some drawbacks to mandatory health insurance. One of the most significant concerns is that it can be challenging to set up and administer. In Zambia, the introduction of NHIMA has required a significant investment in resources and infrastructure to set up the new organization and ensure that it operates effectively. There is also the risk that mandatory health insurance could be used to fund low-quality healthcare services, which would be a significant disadvantage for citizens who are required to pay for the insurance.

Despite these potential drawbacks, the introduction of mandatory health insurance in Zambia is a positive step towards providing universal healthcare coverage for its citizens. The NHIMA has already sent technocrats to learn from other public health insurance systems, such as the ACA, NHS, and NHI. This shows that Zambia is committed to learning from the experiences of other countries to ensure that its health insurance system is effective and efficient.

In conclusion, the introduction of mandatory health insurance in Zambia is a significant step towards universal health coverage. While there are potential drawbacks to the system, the advantages of ensuring that everyone has access to affordable healthcare are clear. It is essential that the NHIMA learns from the experiences of other public health insurance systems to ensure that the system is effective, efficient, and provides high-quality healthcare to all Zambians.

Hakainde Hichilema - Zambia's 7th president

 Congratulations