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The Isoka Magistrate court has found Mohamed Abdul Ali, a 34-year-old Somali refugee, guilty and sentenced him to either a fine of K80,000 or nine months in prison for assisting his 28-year-old fellow countryman, Dahir Muqtar Mohamud.
Immigration Public Relations Officer, Namati Nshinka, stated that the Somalis were traveling together when they were detained on August 1, 2024, at the Mpika Checkpoint while on a Juldan Public Service Bus en route to Lusaka from Nakonde.
In a statement issued in Lusaka on Saturday, Nshinka explained, “The duo was asked to disembark from the bus after Immigration Officers noticed inconsistencies in the refugee documents presented by Mohamud.”
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“Investigations later revealed that Mohamed Abdul Ali was a bonafide refugee and that he met Dahir Muqtar Mohamud in Tanzania, where he offered to provide him with refugee documents and facilitate his travel to Lusaka at a fee,” Nshinka mentioned.
He added that Mohamud’s refugee documents were later found to be forged, and other counterfeit documents were discovered in Ali’s possession.
“The Isoka Immigration Office decided to charge Mohamed Abdul Ali with aiding and abetting human trafficking, while Dahir Muqtar Mohamud was charged with failure to appear before the nearest Immigration Officer on entry. Dahir Muqtar Mohamud was convicted and sentenced to a fine of K6,000 or nine months’ simple imprisonment,” Nshinka pointed out.
Additionally, 11 out of 58 undocumented Ethiopians apprehended for illegal entry at the Ndabala Checkpoint on August 4, 2024, by a team of Immigration and Police Officers, were also convicted.
“Eleven have each been sentenced to pay fines of between K500 and K3,500 or four months’ simple imprisonment. The other 47 who have also been charged with illegal entry will appear in court soon,” Nshinka said.
Furthermore, he reported that three Zambian peasant farmers from Nchelenge District were convicted for leaving Zambia at a location other than an official port of entry without written authorization from the Director-General of Immigration.
“Davison Kabaso, 34, Winston Matipa, 21, and Sylvester Chiluba, 20 were apprehended on August 7, 2024, in the Kasakalabwe fishing camp area during a joint operation conducted by Immigration, Police, and Department of Fisheries Officers,” he stated.
He mentioned that they were each sentenced to pay a fine of K1,200 or 30 days’ simple imprisonment.
“The trio have since been released after paying court fines,” he added.
In addition, Nshinka pointed out that the Department of Immigration, between Wednesday and Thursday, apprehended 60 suspected illegal immigrants of different nationalities across the country, including 18 apprehended by the Lusaka Regional Immigration Office in a routine clean-up operation conducted on Thursday in Libala, Chilenje, Kamwala-South, Nyumba Yanga, and Bauleni.
“The Department of Immigration removed 50 illegal immigrants from the country, including 15 Malawians removed by the Petauke Immigration Office after paying their respective court fines for various immigration offences,” he said.
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