The Chirundu Immigration Office, on 30th November 2022, apprehended ten (10) male Ethiopian nationals for illegal entry and unlawful stay. A Joint team of Immigration and Police Officers conducted an operation in the early hours of 30th November 2022 following information from a concerned member of the public that an unnamed person or persons planned to smuggle some Ethiopians into Zimbabwe across the Zambezi River. The Ethiopians were found hidden in some drainages in Singwini Compound within Chirundu District. It is believed that they had been waiting for the said smugglers to assist them in crossing into Zimbabwe using canoes. They have since been transferred to the Lusaka Regional Immigration Office for further immigration formalities.
In a related development, the Kasumbalesa Immigration Office, in the early hours of 28th November 2022, apprehended Twenty-Six (26) persons for various immigration offences. This was during a routine clean-up operation conducted within the Kasumbalesa Market Area. Those apprehended were nineteen (19) Congolese, six (06) Tanzanians, and one (01) Zimbabwean. The Chirundu and Kasumbalesa incidents bring the number of persons apprehended between 25th November and 1st December 2022 to One Hundred and Ninety-Four (194).
Meanwhile, the Katete Immigration Office, on 30th November 2022, secured the convictions of Eighteen (18) Ethiopian nationals for the offence of illegal entry. Sixteen (16) were each sentenced to pay a fine of K 1,000 or, in default, four months simple imprisonment, while two (2) were fined K 1,500 or, in default, 12 months simple imprisonment. The eighteen convicts were among the Twenty-Six (26) Ethiopians apprehended on 27th October 2022 as they hid in a nearby bush in Katete District, following a tip-off from members of the public. The other thirteen (13) were handed over to the Katete Immigration Office after Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) Officers intercepted them on 26th October 2022 before the Reuben Kamanga Toll Plaza aboard a Toyota Spacio Registration Number ALG4991. The other eight (
, all juveniles, were absolutely discharged by the Court because of their age. Meanwhile, the Toyota Spacio Registration Number ALG4991, used by some Ethiopians, was forfeited to the state. The Katete Court outcome brings the number of convictions secured by the Department between 25th November and 1st December 2022 to One Hundred and Thirteen (113).
The Department of Immigration, on 25th November 2022, removed Nineteen (19) Ethiopians after serving prison sentences for offences of illegal entry and unlawful stay. They were apprehended in various parts of the country, predominantly Eastern, Muchinga, and Central Provinces, where they were convicted and served prison sentences before being transferred to Lusaka for removal. They left Zambia for Ethiopia, their country of origin, aboard an Ethiopian Airline Flight via Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. The latest removals bring the total number of Ethiopians removed between 8th September and 1st December 2022 to Eight Hundred and Thirteen (813). It also brings the number of illegal immigrants of different nationalities removed between 25th November and 1st December 2022 to Eighty-Five (85).
The Department has continued intercepting illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa who, with the assistance of traffickers and smugglers, continue to undertake dangerous journeys in search of greener pastures. We wish to discourage anyone planning to embark on such a journey from doing so. Such trips make migrants vulnerable and susceptible to abuse by traffickers and smugglers and take a severe toll on their mental and physical health, which often leads to a tragic end. The launch of Zambia’s first-ever Migration Policy and the National Policy on Human Trafficking and Smuggling of migrants is timely as their full implementation will significantly help mitigate the adverse effects of migration.
Namati H. Nshinka (Mr)
PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
255282/0977718155/pro@zambiaimmigration.gov.zm
