The Mzuzu First Grade Magistrate Court has convicted 11 Ethiopian nationals for illegal entry into Malawi, contrary to section 21(1) of the Immigration Act.
Not possessing passports or visas, the seven Ethiopians were arrested on 18th April 2024 while hiding on the shores of Hangalawe in Karonga district, the court’s Immigration State Prosecutor Inspector Bright Matemba disclosed.
Among the eleven convicted Ethiopians, First Grade Magistrate Robert Makaika sentenced seven of them to two months imprisonment with Hard Labour.
While cases of the other four Ethiopian illegal immigrants were pursued by First Grade Magistrate Clement Mwamale who recommended the Minister of Homeland Security for their deportation within a month.
Currently, the eleven convicted illegal immigrants are at Mzuzu Prison, spokesperson for the Immigration Department in the northern region Sargeant, Francis Chitambuli confirmed.
Reports of Ethiopian immigrants trying to enter Malawi illegally through the North are on the rise as 52 two others were convicted last month by the Mzuzu First Magistrate Court as well.
