Police suspicious of refugees’ containers

Malawi Police Service has raised suspicion that some of the shipping containers refugees used for business and impounded during their relocation exercise contain several crime-related materials and contraband, including illegal firearms and foreign currency.

National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya said in a statement yesterday the police will from August 28 open and search the 125 containers at Mgona Market and National Police Headquarters, both in Lilongwe City.

He said: “This follows a court order pronounced on July 12 2023 which gives direction on how the confiscated containers, which are reasonably suspected to have been instrumentalities for the commission of various crimes, should be disposed of.”

Kalaya said appropriate procedures were followed during the confiscation of the containers as police had a court warrant, and also have a court order for the opening exercise which will be witnessed by independent stakeholders which have been appointed by the court.

In a separate interview, Ministry of Homeland Security spokesperson Patrick Botha corroborated the information, saying containers owners, who are expected to be at Dzaleka, will be expected to be available during the operation.

“Police have sent a press release to Yetu Community Radio situated at Dzaleka and to block leaders who we expect to communicate to the people in the camp,” he said.

Owners of the containers have been urged to get refugee status cards, asylum seeker’s cards, business registration permits and permits to deal in minerals, agricultural produce, scrap metals or foreign currency.

But Inua Advocacy chief executive Innocent Magambi, a refugees’ rights advocate, said there are several unanswered questions on the exercise.

He said: “If police and the army had this information, did they investigate first or they confiscated the containers without their owners because these are serious crimes. You don’t just go and get the containers you also get the people, owners. Is this how they were trained to arrest criminals?”

Institutions appointed by the court to witness the exercise are Reserve Bank of Malawi, National Intelligence Service, Financial Intelligence Authority, Ministry of Homeland Security, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Admarc and the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Security.

Youth and Society executive director Charles Kajoloweka, whose institution is leading 10 other organisations demanding a halt to the relocation exercise, also said there are concerns surrounding the exercise’s credibility.

But Kalaya said they could not open the containers during the time of confiscation because owners used to run and lock them.

Malawi Government embarked on an exercise of relocating refugees to Dzaleka Camp. The exercise rolled out after the expiry of an April 15 2023 deadline for voluntary relocation.