Ten male Ethiopian nationals were detained by the Chirundu Immigration Office for illegal entrance and unlawful abode after they were discovered in drainages.
This followed an operation that a joint team of immigration and police officers conducted on November 30, this year, according to immigration public relations officer Namati Nshinka.
According to him, the agency learned about a scheme to sneak some Ethiopians into Zimbabwe across the Zambezi River from a worried member of the public.
The Ethiopians, according to Mr. Nshinka, were discovered in several drainages in the Chirundu District neighborhood of Singwini Compound.
“It is believed that they had been waiting for the said smugglers to assist them in crossing into Zimbabwe using canoes. They have since been transferred to the Lusaka Regional Immigration Office for further immigration formalities.
“The Department has continued intercepting illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa who, with the assistance of traffickers and smugglers, continue to undertake dangerous journeys in search of greener pastures. We wish to discourage anyone planning to embark on such a journey from doing so.
Such trips make migrants vulnerable and susceptible to abuse by traffickers and smugglers and take a severe toll on their mental and physical health, which often leads to a tragic end. The launch of Zambia’s first-ever Migration Policy and the National Policy on Human Trafficking and Smuggling of migrants is timely as their full implementation will significantly help mitigate the adverse effects of migration,” he said
In a related event, the Kasumbalesa Immigration Office detained 26 people for a variety of immigration offenses early on November 28, 2022, while conducting a routine clean-up operation in the Kasumbalesa Market Area.
