Malawi takes on refugees
Malawi Government yesterday deployed law enforcement agencies to force refugees residing outside Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa District to return to the designated place and in the process arrested 360 people.
The move follows the passing of an April 15 deadline set for asylum seekers and refugees to leave urban areas and rural towns.
Malawi Police Service, Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services and National Registration Bureau officers launched the operation yesterday morning before Malawi Defence Force (MDF) joined the mission in the afternoon.
At some markets in Lilongwe, police and MDF soldiers confiscated
containers which stocked merchandise belonging to foreign nationals.
National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya in an interview yesterday said 360 people were arrested and taken to Maula Prison where they were being processed to ascertain their residence status.
He said: “We have started with Lilongwe, but the exercise will go to other cities and towns soon. It follows the expiry of the period they were given to relocate back to the camp.”
But refugee advocate Innocent Magambi in an interview complained that they were denied access to the people arrested.
“In some instances, both husband and wife were picked after the children were already in school, so we wanted to establish that and find a way to care for those children,” he said.
On his part, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation executive director Michael Kaiyatsa urged government to stop the relocation exercise, fearing, it will have disastrous consequences.
But Ministry of Homeland Security spokesperson Patrick Botha said about 8 000 refugees are supposed to return to Dzaleka. He said they were supposed to relocate on their own without being forced.
Commissioner for Refugees General Ignacio Maulana (retired) said government was looking at finding a new place for a refugee camp, but insisted that Dzaleka had space to accommodate those returning.
Residence of refugees outside Dzaleka Camp was declared illegal through a High Court ruling, which overturned previous more liberal ecisions made by the government committee established under the Refugees Act.
