04-06-2021 – The Kitwe Immigration Office has secured the conviction of a 27-year-old Indian national holder of passport No.M4183058 for the offence of unlawful stay contrary to section 11(3) as read with section 56(1) of the Immigration and Deportation Act No.18 of 2010. Mr. Imran was apprehended on 20th May 2021 in Kitwe’s Chimwemwe Township during a routine operation after it was established that he had overstayed in the country. He entered the country on 21st March 2021 via Kenneth Kaunda International Airport and failed to apply for a Temporary Employment Permit before the expiry of his non-extendable 30 business visit days. He appeared before the Magistrate Court in Kitwe on 28th May 2021 and was sentenced to pay a fine of K 10,000 or in default four (04) months simple imprisonment. He paid the fine and was removed from the country on 2nd June 2021. This brings the number of convictions secured by the Department of Immigration between 28th May and 2nd June 2021 to forty-four (44).
Meanwhile, the Department of Immigration between 28th May and 2nd June 2021 removed a total of one hundred and eight (108) Prohibited Immigrants (PIs) from the country. Among them were twenty-two (22) Congolese removed on 1st June 2021 by Immigration Officers at Kasumbalesa Border Control after entering the country illegally. Also removed were twenty-one (21) Zimbabweans by the Kafue Immigration Office, sixteen (16) of whom had completed serving prison terms. The Kitwe Immigration Office also removed seventeen (17) Tanzanians from the country, eleven of whom also completed serving prison terms.
In another development, the Kapiri Mposhi Immigration Office has apprehended eight (08) Ethiopians for unlawful entry and stay. The Ethiopians aged between 19 and 34 years were nabbed as they were walking along a named street in Kapiri Mposhi following a tip-off from the Police. This was after they failed to produce documentation legalizing their entry and stay in Zambia. It is believed that the group had initially been smuggled in a fuel tanker but later abandoned by the suspected smuggler for fear of detection by Officers who had mounted a checkpoint at Lwanshimba. It also believed that their final destination was South Africa. They have since been transferred to Kabwe Regional Immigration Office for further formalities.
Similarly, the Kafue Immigration Office on 1st June 2021 intercepted fifteen (15) Burundians for giving false information to a public officer. The group which is believed to have been headed to South Africa legally entered Zambia through Zombe Border on 28th and 29th May 2021 and declared their purpose of entering the county as visit, when in fact they were transiting to go to South Africa. They will soon be removed from the country.
Meanwhile, in other parts of the country the Department between 28th May and 2nd June 2021 apprehended a total of seventy-three (73) persons for various immigration offences country-wide. These were thirty-four (34) Congolese, ten (10) Tanzanians, ten (10) Zimbabweans, eight (08) Burundians, and four (04) Malawians. Others were two (02) Chinese, Kenyans, and Somalis, and one (01) Namibian.
We wish to encourage members of the public with information of an individual, business, or employer who may be aiding and abetting illegal immigrants to contact the Department of Immigration
