EIGHTY-FOUR (84) Malawian migrants arrested in Zimbabwe for lack of travel documents are languishing in prisons while awaiting deportation.
The majority of the immigrants had no intention of staying
in Zimbabwe because they were caught en route to South Africa.
Zimbabwe, unlike most of its neighbours such as South
Africa, does not have holding facilities for immigrants awaiting deportation.
The illegal immigrants are instead imprisoned.
Malawi’s deputy ambassador to Zimbabwe Elias Mpaso
confirmed the arrests saying the embassy was making efforts to repatriate them.
Last Friday we had 84 Malawian nationals in Zimbabwean
jails. There are 66 males at Harare Remand Prison and 18 females at Chikurubi.
These people were arrested in different parts of Zimbabwe.
“However, the government is trying its best to repatriate
them, we are still waiting for the Foreign Affairs Department to officially
inform us. We are also sourcing funds from Malawi for their repatriation. In
Malawi, the repatriation process is done in collaboration with the Department
of Foreign Affairs and Department of Food Disaster Management to take our
citizens back to Malawi,” Mpaso said.
Previously, the country’s prisons were holding about 550
Malawian citizens who were caught trying to sneak into South Africa via
Zimbabwe without travel documents.
In August, the country jailed 148 undocumented Malawian
nationals. Malawi Freedom Network reported that the 148 were sentenced to
between four and six months in prison while awaiting deportation.
Malawi has since sought help from international institutions
such as the International Migration Organisation to facilitate the return of
its citizens.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission said it was a human
rights violation for immigrants to be locked up in prisons together with
convicts. Newsday
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