• IMMIGRANTS being screened at Musa Kasonka Stadium in Ndola recently.

By SYLVESTER MWALE –
INCREASED reports of illegal immigrants being intercepted and rounded up in various parts of the country raises questions as to whether there are enough efforts to secure the country from unwanted elements.
It is no longer uncommon to hear the Immigration Department arresting illegal immigrants within the country or deporting foreigners for unlawful entry into Zambia.
The latest episode, which involved the interception by the department of 48 Ethiopians packed in a containerised truck last weekend is even more shocking.
The foreigners were crammed in a Tanzanian truck registration number T606 in what is believed to be a case of human trafficking rather than just an immigration offence.
The arrest comes exactly a year after another 51 Ethiopians where arrested in Kabwe last year when they were discovered to have entered the country without authority.
Recently, more than 200 illegal immigrants were arrested when a combined team of security officers raided Chibolya Township.
How do these illegal immigrants enter the country? Are the boarders too porous to monitor who comes in and out of the country, or is it that Immigration Department has gone to sleep? What do they want, and what are some of the risks associated with these illegal immigrants?
These are some of the questions that have been making rounds in the heads of many Zambians, and unless appropriate answers are provided, the accusing finger will point at the Immigration Department and other security wings.
“I feel the Immigration Department has been reactive in dealing with illegal immigrants,” said Michael Mulanje, a resident of Lusaka. “In many cases, we hear people getting arrested in Lusaka and one would wonder how they crossed into Zambia.”
Admittedly, most cases of illegal immigrants have happened inside the country rather than at the border – giving rise to theories that borders are becoming irrelevant in as far as preventing illegal immigrants is concerned.
Shockingly, churches which are normally known to be advocates of order, have turned out to be one the main escalators of the problem of illegal immigrants.
Chief registrar of societies Kakoma Kanganja said the Government was concerned with reports that some churches were being used to harbour criminal activities including harbouring prohibited immigrants.
“My office has received several reports that some churches were being used to conduct illegal activities which included sexual offences and harbouring of illegal immigrants, and it was the Government’s role to curb such activities,” he said.
Much as the Church and some individuals might have harboured some illegal immigrants, there is a strong feeling that the Immigration Department has not done enough to curb illegal immigrants.
“There is nothing the department is doing apart from deporting people,” notes Edward Chisanga, another resident of Lusaka’s Northmead area.
“Illegal foreigners in Zambia are free than in any other country in this part of Africa. They are running more successful businesses than our own people, while Immigration Department is ignoring them.”
He noted that Zambia had porous borders which were not manned by Immigration Department officials, thereby allowing foreigners to cross in and out of the country without being questioned.
While the country boasts of appropriate immigration laws that prescribe severe punishment to offenders, its geographical location has apparently given a leeway for foreigners to enter Zambia unimpeded.
Immigration Department spokesperson Namati Nshinka dispelled the notation that officials have failed to secure the country from illegal immigrants.
“We have 5,600 kilometres bordering different countries against just three active border posts,” he said. “In this case, it is very difficult for us to detect those who choose to ignore the designated borders.”
Mr Nshinka, however, said that the department had internal control system which has been used to detect illegal immigrants once they entered the country.
“It is this internal control that helped us to detect those Ethiopians at the weekend. I must say that we have not gone to sleep, we are doing everything possible to ensure that illegal immigrants are arrested.”
He, however, admitted that the issue of illegal immigrants had become even more sophisticated due to cases of human trafficking.
It is hardly indisputable that the increased illegal immigrants in Zambia raise concerns on the security of the country, more so that some immigrants are running away from countries that have waged war for years.
In this regard, unless there is heightened alertness in restricting who enters Zambia, the country could be in danger of being at the centre of sophisticated crime.
Today, South Africa is struggling to cope with a high crime rate with a senior police officer recently telling a parliamentary committee that the high crime rate was as a result of increased illegal immigrants because officers spent more time on policing foreigners.
At the rate illegal immigrants are trooping into the country, it would hardly shock anyone if Zambia reaches the same levels.
Apart from the security situation, the porous borders could just turn out to be a curse amid reports of Ebola in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.
While there has been assurance that intensive screening is being conducted to thwart any possible transmission of the deadly pandemic, the reality is that many people still cross into Zambia without being examined.
Zambia Medical Association (ZMA) president Aaron Mujajati says it is clear that there are porous borders going by the number of illegal immigrants who are being arrested in different townships of Lusaka.
“As an association, we are very much worried about the problem of immigrants coming to Zambia because these can come along with the virus which is in Congo,” he said.
The issue of illegal immigrants is surely getting out of hand regardless of which angle one looks at it. Therefore, there is need to come up with affirmative action to address the problem in order to stop any potential negative vices associated with illegal foreigners.
All security wings should team up to ensure that the vice is stopped.
Perhaps it would be helpful that the Department of Immigration increased its random screening in a bid to detect more illegal foreigners and secure the country from unwanted elements.
There is also need for the members of the public to be wary of the ramification of harbouring illegal immigrants. This is not only an offence under the Immigration and deportation Act, but also a danger to their lives.