21-01-2022 – The Nakonde Immigration Office on 19th January 2022 apprehended 39 Ethiopian nationals for illegal entry. Responding to a report about the presence of suspected illegal immigrants in Mikuwa Village of Nakonde District by the residents of that Village, the Nakonde based Immigration Officers with Police presence found a weak-looking suspected Ethiopian national at the Village Headman’s house believed to have been abandoned by the group because he was unable to walk unaided. Investigations later revealed that community members had heard sounds of a motor vehicle making several trips around 04:00 hours.
Tyre marks left by the vehicle and a 2 Kilometer-long footpath created by the footsteps of a seemingly large group of people, led the Officers to three (03) houses in Musanza Village of the same District which is about 20 Kilometers from Nakonde Border Control. The 38 Ethiopians were found in the main house, bringing the total to 39 with the one who was apprehended earlier in Mikuwa Village. The 39 Ethiopian nationals are detained at Nakonde police station pending further formalities.
Similarly, the Monze Immigration Office on 18th January 2022 apprehended Thirty-Two (32) foreign nationals aged between 16 and 47 years and Edward Banda (44), a Zambian driver, in a suspected case of human smuggling. The foreign nationals comprising twenty-one (21) male Somalis, one (01) female Somali, nine (09) male Bangladeshi nationals, and one (01) male Ethiopian were intercepted by Immigration Officers at Chisekesi Checkpoint aboard a Livingstone-bound Mitsubishi Rosa Bus Registration BAK 2985 driven by Edward Banda. This was after the foreigners failed to produce documentation granting them authority to enter and stay in the country. The nine (09) Ethiopians and six (06) Somalis had passports but all without entry endorsement stamps while the rest only had National Registration Cards.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the driver of the Rosa Bus after dispatching his customers at Kafue was approached and engaged by an unnamed Zambian man to pick up and transport some people up to Livingstone. The driver and the unnamed man made a stop just beyond Cheetah Lodge where the twenty-nine (29) foreign nationals emerged from the back of a stationary truck got onto the bus and proceeded until its interception at Chisekesi Checkpoint in Monze. However, the unnamed Zambian managed to flee the scene. The suspects are currently detained at Monze Correctional Facility pending further formalities. The two (02) operations bring the number of persons apprehended by the Department between 18th and 20th January 2022 to One-Hundred and Twenty-Nine (129).
Meanwhile, the Chinsali Regional Immigration Office on 19th January 2022 secured the conviction of a 25 year old Somali national for failure to appear before the nearest Immigration Officer on entry, contrary to section 12 (1) as read with section 56(1) of the Immigration and Deportation Act Number 18 of 2010 of the Laws of Zambia. He was sentenced to pay a fine of K 20,000 or in default 9 months simple imprisonment. This brings the number of convictions secured by the Department during this period to Nineteen (19). During this same period, the Department also removed Twenty-Three (23) illegal immigrants from the country.
We wish to commend members of the public for partnering with the Department by reporting suspected illegal immigrants to the Department of Immigration. We urge all well-meaning citizens and residents to desist from aiding, harbouring, and abetting illegal immigrants but to instead continue reporting suspected illegal immigrants to the nearest Immigration Office.
