Mhalifu anajifanya mwajiri.

• Mhalifu = criminal / offender
• anajifanya = is pretending / is acting as if he or she is
• mwajiri = employer

So the sentence means something like The criminal is pretending to be an employer.

It can be broken down like this:

• a- = he/she
• -na- = present tense / ongoing action
• -ji- = self
• -fanya = do / make

So anajifanya literally has the sense of he/she makes himself/herself..., and in this pattern it means he/she pretends to be...

The -ji- is the reflexive marker, meaning oneself / himself / herself.

With kujifanya, the idea is not just to do something, but to make oneself into something, or to present oneself as something. That is why kujifanya often means to pretend.

For example:

• Anajifanya mjinga = He/She is pretending to be foolish
• Anajifanya mgonjwa = He/She is pretending to be sick

So in your sentence, anajifanya mwajiri means he/she is making himself/herself out to be an employer.

In this construction, Swahili does not need a separate to be.

English says:

• pretend to be an employer

Swahili says:

• anajifanya mwajiri

The verb kujifanya already carries the idea pretend to be / present oneself as, so the noun mwajiri can follow directly.

You may also hear:

• anajifanya kuwa mwajiri

This is also understandable, but anajifanya mwajiri is more direct and very natural.

This is an important difference:

• ni mwajiri = is an employer
• anajifanya mwajiri = is pretending to be an employer

So:

• Mhalifu ni mwajiri would mean The criminal is an employer
• Mhalifu anajifanya mwajiri means The criminal is only acting like an employer, not necessarily really one

Because the verb agrees with the subject.

• Mhalifu is a singular human noun
• Singular human subjects usually take the subject marker a-

So:

• Mhalifu anajifanya... = The criminal is pretending...
• Mhalifu anakimbia = The criminal is running
• Mhalifu amesema... = The criminal has said...

If it were plural, you would use wa-:

• Wahalifu wanajifanya waajiri = The criminals are pretending to be employers

Both are human nouns in the m-/wa- class.

Singular:

• mhalifu = criminal
• mwajiri = employer

Plural:

• wahalifu = criminals
• waajiri = employers

This is why a plural version would be:

• Wahalifu wanajifanya waajiri

Notice both the subject and the noun after kujifanya change to plural if the meaning is plural.

Yes. Depending on context, kujifanya can mean:

• to pretend
• to act like
• to make oneself out to be
• sometimes even to put on airs or to act in a certain way deliberately

So Mhalifu anajifanya mwajiri could suggest:

• the criminal is falsely presenting himself/herself as an employer
• the criminal is posing as an employer
• the criminal is impersonating an employer

In many real-life contexts, posing as is a very natural English translation.

You can say:

• Mhalifu hajifanyi mwajiri.

Breakdown:

• ha- = negative subject marker for he/she
• -ji- = reflexive
• -fanyi = negative form of the verb

Meaning:

• The criminal is not pretending to be an employer

Here are some common tense changes:

• Mhalifu alijifanya mwajiri. = The criminal pretended to be an employer.
• Mhalifu atajifanya mwajiri. = The criminal will pretend to be an employer.
• Mhalifu amejifanya mwajiri. = The criminal has pretended / has made himself out to be an employer.

The subject marker a- stays the same for he/she, but the tense marker changes:

• -na- = present
• -li- = past
• -ta- = future
• -me- = perfect

These two words can feel unusual at first because of the opening consonant combinations:

• mhalifu begins with mh-
• mwajiri begins with mw-

A rough guide:

• mhalifu ≈ m-ha-li-fu
• mwajiri ≈ m-wa-ji-ri

Try to pronounce every vowel clearly:

• a, i, u in mhalifu
• wa, i, i in mwajiri

Swahili vowels are usually pure and short, unlike the changing vowel sounds common in English.