Immigration deports 265 foreigners

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has deported about 265 foreigners for allegedly entering the country without proper Immigration documentation.

Immigration national spokesperson Wellington Chiponde said in an interview that out of the deported irregular immigrants, 238 were among those arrested and put in various prisons in the Northern Region.

He said the male foreigners are mostly Ethiopians who entered the country through uncharted routes.

Said Chiponde: “They have left the country [yesterday] through Kamuzu International Airport. About 238 were from Northern Region and the remainder were from Lilongwe making it 265 in total.

“International Organisation for Migration [IOM] has funded the repatriation process.”

Section 21 of Malawi Immigration Act states that, no person shall enter, be or remain in Malawi, unless he is in possession of a current permanent residence permit.

The deportation comes at a time the population of foreigners is steadily rising thereby creating food shortage challenges as well as drawing security attention.

As of July 28 2023, the country’s prisons were accommodating 693 foreign nationals, comprising 631 remandees and 62 convicts.

Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (Chreaa) executive director Victor Mhango is on record as having observed that the government spends a lot in arresting foreign nationals and putting them in prisons.

He blamed the situation on lack of immigration holding centres that could accommodate irregular migrants that are waiting for deportation.

In an interview yesterday, IOM chief of mission Nomagugu Ncube said her organisation has spent about $800 (about K1.4 million) for each irregular immigrant’s return to Ethiopia.