06-04-2021 – The Lusaka Regional Immigration Office has apprehended seventeen (17) Burundian nationals. They were nabbed on Saturday, 3rd April 2021, in Chaisa after it was established that the person who invited them to Zambia was not a credible host, as he was appearing in court for an immigration offence. The Immigration Officers were alerted to the presence of the visitors by concerned members of the public. They are scheduled to be removed from the country soon.
In a similar development, the Chipata Regional Immigration Office has detained a 37-year-old Zambian by the name Maguya Jere a resident of Chipata, and seventeen (17) male Ethiopians aged between 14 and 25 years for aiding and abetting illegal immigrants and illegal entry, respectively. The seventeen (17) were intercepted in the early hours of Tuesday, 6th April 2021 on Magwero Road, off Great East Road by Officers from the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) who handed them over to Immigration. They were found aboard a Zambian registered Toyota Hiace Motor Vehicle which was being driven by Maguya Jere and were taken into custody after they failed to produce documentation legalizing their entry into Zambia. All 17 Ethiopians and the Zambian are currently detained at Namuseche Correctional Facility pending further immigration formalities. The vehicle has been impounded.
Meanwhile, the Department of Immigration between 1st and 5th April 2021 removed a total of one hundred and five (105) illegal immigrants from the country. This includes a mass removal exercise of fifty-three (53) Ethiopians on 3rd April 2021 by the Lusaka Regional Immigration Office via Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.
During this period, the Department also apprehended thirty-five (35) persons for various immigration offences, countrywide. Further, the Department secured seven (07) convictions and refused sixteen (16) illegal immigrants entry into Zambia for failing to meet entry requirements.
The Department continues to be on high alert to detect anyone who attempts to enter or remain in the country by circumventing the law. Anyone found in breach of any provision of the Immigration and Deportation Act will face the full wrath of the law. We wish to remind anyone wishing to visit Zambia to ensure that their hosts are credible and that they qualify to invite a foreign national to Zambia.