Court convicts three Somalian nationals for trespass

Three Somalian refugees have been prosecuted for trespassing by the Ndola Magistrate Court.

According to a statement issued in Lusaka, the three refugee were identified as Mohamed Isse, 30, Abdi Mahiyadin, 21 and Mohamed Abdulqadir, 20.

Immigration Public Relations Officer, Namati Nshinka, explained that the convicted were found in a location outside a designated refugee settlement without proper gate passes, as per section 31(4) of Zambia’s Immigration and Deportation Act No. 18 of 2010.

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Nshinku said the trio were nabbed on January 2, 2024 during a routine clean-up operation conducted in Ndola town center.

“At the time of their arrest, Isse and Abdulqadir had expired gate passes while Mahiyadin, did not have a gate pass at all,” he explained.

Nshinku added that the apprehended appeared before the Ndola Magistrate Court on January 5, 2024 where the Court convicted and sentenced Mahiyadin and Abdulqadir to a fine of K1,000 each or six months imprisonment, while Isse was fined K 2,000 or in default six months simple imprisonment.

“Similarly, the Kafue Immigration Office on January 8, 2024 secured the convictions of a 34-year-old South African truck driver Sinethemba Collen Ngxito and a 42-year-old Zimbabwean farmer Shimbarase Paradza, for unlawful stay in Zambia contrary to section 11(3) of the Immigration and Deportation Act number 18 of 2010 of the Laws of Zambia,” he said.

Nshinku stated that the duo was intercepted on January 4, 2024 during a routine compliance-check at the Kafue Security Checkpoint after officers discovered they had overstayed their visits.

“Ngxito entered Zambia on October 4, 2023 through Kazungula and stayed unlawfully between October 18, 2023, the date his visit days expired to January 4, 2024, the date of his arrest,” he said.

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