The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has apprehended a total of 844 foreign nationals between January and April this year after they committed various immigration offences.
National Public Relations Officer for the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services, Wellington Chiponde, confirmed the development saying the majority of the apprehended were from the Horn of Africa.
Chiponde emphasized that the Department of Immigration is determined to curb the influx of irregular immigrants through the deployment of multifaceted approaches that holistically address the threat being posed by irregular migration.
“We are geared to curb the proliferation of irregular immigrants in our country, including those who opt to use our country as a transit corridor, enroute to other Southern African countries,” said Chiponde.
He said the department is doing this in line with its aspirations of having a robust and resilient migration management system that enhances national security, safeguard employment for Malawians, and promote socio-economic development of the country.
The publicist bemoaned the tendency of aiding and abetting illegal entry of foreign nationals into the country and warned perpetrators that the law will take its course on anyone found doing the malpractice.
“We are aware that irregular migration is perpetuated by some unpatriotic citizens and residents who are enticed to aid and abet illegal entry of foreign nationals into our country. Our officers are working around the clock to combat this vice and we would like to stress that the law will not spare anyone found doing such despicable acts,” he warned.
He continued to say that they are as well working with some of the country’s security agencies and it is reported that this week in Rumphi, the Malawi Police Service arrested 51 Ethiopians who have been convicted and are awaiting deportation.
The department has through Chiponde appealed to members of the general public to report suspected irregular immigrants and their perpetrators to the Department or the nearest Police.
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