Eleven undocumented Ethiopians apprehended in a fatal road accident
The Chirundu Immigration Office has apprehended 11 undocumented Ethiopian nationals for failing to appear before the nearest immigration Officer.
Seven of the 11 were arrested after the Toyota Corolla registration number ABL65 in which they were travelling collided with an oncoming Toyota Corolla registration number AIC 5066 on 23rd March 2023 around 22:00 hours along the Chirundu-Kafue Road about 6 Kilometers to Chirundu Border.
One unidentified person understood to be an Ethiopian, died on the way to the hospital.
At the same time, seven other Ethiopians and the Zambian Driver of the Toyota Corolla, registration number AIC 5066, sustained injuries.
They were rushed to Mutendere Mission Hospital, where they are currently receiving treatment.
The Driver of the Toyota Corolla registration number ABL65 and some Ethiopians whose exact number is yet to be established fled the scene.
In a Press statement by Public Relations Officer Namati H. Nshinka, on 24th March 2023, four Ethiopians believed to have fled the scene were apprehended by Immigration Officers as they hid near the accident scene and are currently detained at Chirundu Police Station.
The Zambian Driver of the vehicle believed to have been carrying the undocumented migrants remains at large.
On 23rd March 2023, the Kasama Regional Immigration Office apprehended 13 Somalis and seven Ethiopians for failure to appear before the nearest Immigration Officer.
The group was nabbed by a team of Immigration and Police Officers, along the Kasama – Mpika road near Chief Chandamfumu’s Chiefdom, following a tip-off from members of the public.
They are all currently detained pending prosecution.
The Lusaka Regional Immigration Office, on 21st March 2023, apprehended 23 persons during a routine clean-up operation in various parts of Lusaka. Those apprehended were 17 Tanzanians and three Congolese. All are undocumented and remain in custody pending prosecution.
The Chirundu, Kasama, and Lusaka incidents bring the number of persons apprehended for various immigration offences between 20th and 23rd March 2023 to 189.
Immigration Headquarters on 22nd March 2023 secured the conviction of a Zimbabwean national charged with offences of unlawful stay, using more than one passport without authority, concealing of true national identity, and engaging in employment without a permit. He was sentenced to pay a fine of K 20,000 for all four counts or, in default, nine months simple imprisonment. The Lusaka court outcome brings the number of convictions secured by the Department of Immigration between 20th and 23rd March 2023 to 78.
In addition, during this period, the Department removed 30 illegal immigrants of different nationalities from the country.
Further, the Katima Mulilo Immigration Office, on 23rd March 2023, received 20 Zambian nationals after they were removed from Namibia by the Namibian Authorities for entering that country illegally.