By KAIKO NAMUSA-
THE Immigration Department has detained 13 suspected illegal immigrants from the 136 initially detained during an operation in Lusaka’s Chaisa Township recently.
Immigration public relations officer Namati Nshinka said the 13 had remained in detention pending prosecution.
Mr Nshinka said 123 had been released after they produced valid documents while some refugees were warned and ordered to return to their respective refugee camps.
In another operation carried out in Kitwe at the weekend, where authorities raided churches and rounded up nine suspected immigrants, eight who were Congolese and a South African, Mr Nshinka were still in detention at Riverside Police Station also awaiting prosecution.
“The eight Congolese nationals, two of whom were working as pastors at Abundance of Grace Church did not have documents at the time of the arrests. The suspected prohibited immigrants are currently in detention at Riverside Police Station pending prosecution,” he said.
On the immigrants rounded up in Lusaka’s Chibolya and Kabwata Townships during another joint operation with Police and the Registrar of Societies last month, eight of the 149 detainees had been convicted by the Lusaka Magistrate’s Court.
“Out of the eight, five Rwandese were convicted and sentenced to a fine of K2,000 each or in default six months simple imprisonment for leaving the refugee camp without authority contrary to section 31 (4) of the Immigration and Deportation Act number 18 of 2010.
“One other Rwandese refugee was sentenced to a fine of K5,000 or in default nine months simple imprisonment for a similar offence having been out of a refugee camp without authority since 2011,” he added.
He said among the eight were two Congolese, one convicted and sentenced to a fine of K2,000 or in default six months simple imprisonment for unlawful stay while the other appearing in a different Court was sentenced to a fine of K500 or in default two weeks simple imprisonment for a similar offence and that the others arrested would appear in court soon.
Mr Nshinka said Immigration authorities at Lusaka’s Kenneth Kaunda International Airport on Friday, last week received a Zambian repatriated from the United Kingdom for unlawful stay.
Similarly, another Zambian was also sent back from South Africa after attempting to transit through that country to go to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo without valid documents.