The Serenje Immigration Office has detained 38 undocumented Ethiopian nationals for failure to appear before the nearest Immigration Officer on entry. The first group of 19 was nabbed on 7th June, 2024 by Officers from the Police and the Road Traffic and Safety Agency (RTSA) who had mounted a checkpoint. They were in a Lusaka-bound black Toyota Hiace Registration Number AIE 8450. On 7th June, 2024, nineteen (19) more undocumented Ethiopians were nabbed by Police Officers aboard a silver Toyota Hiace Registration number AIC 6932 which had been heading to Lusaka from Nakonde, bringing the total number to 38. The drivers of the vehicles, believed to be Zambians escaped when they saw the authorities and remain at large. All 38 suspects are detained at Serenje Correctional Facility pending prosecution.
Meanwhile, the Department of Immigration in Lusaka between 21st and 28th May, 2024 secured the conviction of two Chinese nationals Feirong Gu (41) and Bing Fu (48) for using forged documents contrary to section 52(4)(c) of the Immigration and Deportation Act number 18 of 2010 and a 49-year-old Chinese national Rongzhou Du for giving false information to an Immigration Officer contrary to section 52(4)(a) of the Act. They were nabbed on 6th May, 2024 when they attempted to collect their Employment Permits. This was after it was discovered that they had used a forged release letter to support their application for change of Employer purporting that the letter had originated from Lipmar Resources Limited when in fact not.
The arrests were made following investigations into reports that some Chinese nationals had obtained their Employment Permits fraudulently. It was later confirmed that the trio was at no point employees of Lipmar Resources Limited. Feirong Gu was fined K 60,000 or six months simple imprisonment while Bing Fu was sentenced to a fine of K 40,000 or 6 months simple imprisonment. Meanwhile Rongzhou Du was fined K 8,000 or four months simple imprisonment. All three paid their court fines and have since been removed from the country. The Department yesterday nabbed a 55-year-old Chinese national Shuwen Yu who is suspected to have applied for his Employment Permit in a similar manner. Investigations into the remaining 12 suspects are ongoing.
Further, the Luanshya Magistrate Court on 6th June, 2024 convicted and fined a 23-year-old Malian national, Isaac Mbalazi to K 15,800 or 9 months simple imprisonment for six different immigration-related offences. He was apprehended on 6th July 2022 at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe International Airport for having an expired passport. Investigations later revealed that he had also failed to appear before an Immigration Officer on entry and had remained in Zambia unlawfully. Isaac Mbalazi also failed to comply with a notice to appear before an Immigration Officer. He was also charged with unlawful possession of a Green National Registration Card (NRC), making a false document and uttering false documents.
Furthermore, the Department between 6th and 9th June, 2024 apprehended 170 persons for various immigration offences countrywide, removed 118 illegal immigrants from the country and refused six foreign nationals entry for failing to meet entry requirements.
