Malawi: The police force in Rumphi district intercepted a vehicle, registration number KA5743. The vehicle was loaded with Ethiopian illegal immigrants. According to the occupants, they were supposedly in transit to South Africa.
The interception was made by the Police force on Saturday, 13 January 2024. Police Publicist for Rumphi police station, Noel Kamchenga, confirmed the development. He shared that 62 Ethiopians were under their custody when we were going to press.
Kamchenga told the local media in the district that the driver was on the run from the police force. The administration has been actively searching for the driver of the vehicle.
Allegedly, there are several routes across the northern Region which are commonly facilitating illegal entry of items into the country and illegal immigrants.
In Rumphi, areas that border with Zambia are, arguably, an easy pass; likewise, in Chitipa, Karonga and the far western parts of Mzimba.
This is happening at a time when the Ministry of Home Affairs is grappling with illegal immigrants and asylum seekers in the country.
The authorities of Malawi have singled out the Northern part of Malawi to be an entry point of a myriad of illegal items and immigrants. The administration of the country has been witnessing a surge of illegal entries into the country’s border.
The situation has become problematic for the administration to handle.
An observed trend shows that, except for a few, unlucky illegal traders who get arrested by the Malawi police service, a lot more enter into the country using uncharted routes in Chitipa, Karonga and Rumphi.
The authorities have taken it upon themselves to conduct research and investigation into the matter. Recently. The administration of Malawi conducted a preliminary compilation of events. In the investigation, the authorities particularly discussed the interception of Ethiopian illegal immigrants.
The reports show that about ten cases of such nature were recorded by the Malawi police in the northern Region in the final days of 2023.