8-10-2022 – The Kasama Regional Immigration Office has apprehended two (2) Zambian Government drivers aged 44 and 46 of Lusaka West and Mtendere, respectively, for suspected human smuggling. Immigration Officers intercepted the duo at Kateshi Toll Gate on the Kasama-Mbala Road aboard a Lusaka-bound maroon Mitsubishi Pajero Government Vehicle carrying nine (9) undocumented Burundians. The Officers intercepted the Vehicle in the early hours of Friday, 7th October 2022, following a tip-off from members of the public. The Zambians and the Burundians are currently detained at Milima Correctional Facility pending prosecution, while the Vehicle has been impounded and is parked at Kasama Regional Immigration Office.
Meanwhile, the Lusaka Regional Immigration Office has detained eight (8) Ethiopians for illegal entry. The eight (8) were among ten (10) Ethiopians handed over to Immigration by the Police after they were intercepted at the Palabana Police Checkpoint aboard a Lusaka-bound Toyota Runx Registration Number ALV 4756 on 6th October 2022. The two (2) other Ethiopians could not be taken into custody due to ill health. Meanwhile, the Driver of the Runx managed to escape.
In another development, the Department of Immigration in Lusaka, on 7th October 2022, removed thirty-four (34) Ethiopians from the country. They were removed via Kenneth Kaunda International Airport after being arrested for illegal entry and unlawful stay. This brings the total number of Ethiopians removed since the start of the removal exercise on 8th September 2022 to Three-Hundred and One (301). The removals are part of an ongoing exercise aimed at reducing the number of Ethiopians detained at various Correctional Facilities across the country. The removal of the thirty-four (34) Ethiopians brings the number of persons of different nationalities removed between 3rd and 6th October 2022 to Sixty-Three (63).
The Department of Immigration, between 3rd and 6th October 2022, apprehended Ninety-One (91) persons for various immigration offences, secured seventy-two (72) convictions, and refused sixteen (16) foreign nationals entry into Zambia for failing to meet various entry requirements.
The arrest of the two (2) Government Employed Drivers should serve as a timely warning to all who are in the habit of assisting illegal immigrants and a reminder that no one is above the law and that anyone found wanting will be prosecuted. The Department also wishes to advise motor vehicle owners and those in charge of Government transport in various Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to warn drivers of these vehicles to desist from using the vehicles in the commission of offences.
