The Somali government has expressed concern over mass arrests of Somali nationals in Zambia following operations by Zambian security forces in Ndola town.
In a statement, Somali ministry for foreign affairs said it was following up the matter with Zambian authorities for clarification on the arrests.
“MFA is closely monitoring alleged reports of mass arrests of Somalis in Ndola, Zambia, based on their ethnicity, irrespective of nationality, is a cause of concern and presently engaging authorities in Zambia for clarity and resolving this unfortunate event expeditiously,” the Ministry said in a tweet.
According to multiple sources, the operations by Zambian forces nabbed more than 500 Somalia under unclear circumstances.
The detainees included men, women and children were taken in buses to a stadium in the Copperbelt region of Ndola in north-central part of Zambia.
Almost of them were later released after their documents were checked by security officials.
Only 40 people remained in police custody and Zambian authorities have not yet commented on the motive behind the operations.
Meanwhile, the Department of Immigration in Vubwi District apprehended forty-three (43) Ethiopian nationals in a suspected case of human smuggling. This was in a Department of Immigration-led operation conducted on 24th October, 2021 in collaboration with other security wings. The team was responding to a tip-off from concerned residents of Songela area in Vubwi who spotted a group of Ethiopians moving aimlessly through Khondwani village asking for food and water.
Ten (10) of the Ethiopians who where in the company of Three (03) Zambians Gift Sakala (34) of Katete, Rodgers Sakala (30) of Chadiza and John Mumba (41) of Lusaka, were apprehended at Chekananji farm in Khondwani village while thirty-three (33) other Ethiopians were nabbed in the hills of Chekananji village. The Forty-three (43) Ethiopians and three (03) Zambians were transferred to Chipata Central Police Station, pending further investigations.
Meanwhile, a joint team of Officers from the Chadiza Immigration Office and the Police on 24th and 25th October, 2021 intercepted five (05) other Ethiopians who are believed to have been in the same group as the Forty-Three (43) apprehended in Vubwi District. They were intercepted around Namandevu area, 50 km from Chadiza aboard a Hino Truck and Two (02) taxis. It is believed that there were more Ethiopians on the Three (03) vehicles but they managed to escape. The three (03) drivers of the vehicles Chazanga Phiri, Frank Chikwenda Phiri and Lazarus Phiri, all Zambians, were also nabbed and they together with the Five (05) Ethiopians are detained at Namuseche Correctional Facility Pending further investigations.
Preliminary investigations into the two incidents suggest that the Ethiopians entered the country from Malawi and were handed over to another group of suspected smugglers around Kamwendo area in Malawi, 30km from Mwami Border. They used the Nsimbi-Chigwe Road to Vubwi with the view to passing through Chadiza but one of the Four (04) vehicles they were using developed a mechanical fault prompting the affected group to abandon the vehicle and head for the mountains, with the rest proceeded to Chadiza, where five (05) were apprehended.
This brings the number of Ethiopians apprehended in similar circumstances in less than two (02) weeks to Eighty-Eight (88) with Forty (40) apprehended by the Katete Immigration Office in Taulo Village in Katete aboard a Toyota Granvia and Toyota Grand Hiace on 15th October, 2021. The Zambian drivers Funiel Banda (29) and Mathias Phiri (35) were also apprehended. The drivers were found with K 31,704 believed to be proceeds of crime. The forty (40) Ethiopians have since been charged with the offence of unlawful entry while the two (02) drivers have been charged with the offences of harbouring prohibited immigrants, facilitating the remaining in Zambia of prohibited immigrants, and receiving property into Zambia from unknown persons. They will all appear in court soon. It also brings the number of persons apprehended for various Immigration Offences between 15th and 27th October, 2021 to Four Hundred and Thirty-Three (433).
During this same period the Department also removed One Hundred and Thirty-Four (134) illegal immigrants from the country, secured Ninety-Eight (98) convictions and refused Fifteen (15) foreign nationals entry into Zambia for failing to meet entry requirements.
The Department appreciates the strong collaboration that exits with other security wings without which it would have been very difficult to undertake successful operations such as the ones which led to the arrest of Eighty-Eight (88) Ethiopians in Eastern Province. We also wish to thank members of the community for their continued support and partnership in the Department’s quest to rid the country of illegal immigrants. Further, the Department wishes to advise motor vehicle owners to warn drivers of these vehicles to desist from using the vehicles for trafficking or smuggling human beings as they risk losing them to the state. Same applies to landlords whose properties are used in the commission of these crimes.
Somalia remains an embarrassment to Africa. Even Somalians themselves don’t recognize some passports issued by some authorities, how do they expect others to? Those from Somaliland don’t recognize documents issued by southerners and vice versa. Some Somalians carry 2 Somali passports for convenience. Further, most Somalians are criminals, they’re a big nuisance. Somalians live in seclusion to hide their crimes. There’s a lot of intimidation and bullying in Somali communities. They even kill each other and don’t report such crimes to authorities. I urge authorities to closely monitor their activities.
It’s the duty of goverment to ensure that all people living in the country are documents. In any case do we have any Zambians squatting in Somalia? These people bring their relatives hidden in trucks traveling from East Africa. Our security for jobs, business, welfare and peace are Paramount.
*2 documented
First and foremost, Somalians are our African brothers and sisters.
Let our immigration departments do their jobs. Some were even released the same day after being processed. So just be patient.
If the Simalian government is being unreasonable, let them come and get their nationals.
Zambia has provided a home for these people, but do not take our hospitality for granted. We have laws and processes in Zambia that we follow.
Happy Sunday to all Zambians and Somalians.
Ayatollah, there is no need to be that explicit in your assessment. We do have a lot of productive Somalians in Zambia. Remember they came to our country for refuge.
And for the record, it is Nigeria and RSA that are the ultimate embarrassment to Africa.
Let us learn to be diplomatic when dealing with issues such as this.
The problem with our brothers and sisters from the horn of Africa is that they don’t integrate so they are of little value to us.
Small differences of opinion among Somalis tend to be settled with gun fights instead of good old rational argument. Somalia is not ready for democracy yet. Only a strong central government under a benevolent dictator can hold Somalia together. The question is where to find such a person. There are many intelligent and entrepreneurial Somalis but they’re being held back by the country’s failure to get the politics right.
It is because the insecure upnd have it I their head that somalis supported the pf in the elections. How can you be so evil to persecute a fellow African. The upnd respect westerners More than fellow Africans. Inferiority complex
After 9/11 when CIA was monitoring suspicious transactions in for East African terror groups they were surprised to see that a fractured country like Somalia that had no tangible economy and was headed by a dozen warloads had thriving mobile money transaction services..there are people who just sit at home and get money sent to them from the diaspora communities in the US and Europe. The transactions are not huge figures but small figures you are talking of a 200,000 migrants sending £100 a week into Somalia….that is a lot of money.
Somalias care only about one thing getting that money and sending it home…in some parts of the UK you have all these Somali gangs, these guys dont even see themselves as Africans but as Arabs …the Arab slave traders used these gullible Somalias to…
sed these gullible Somalias to venture in land in Africa to capture fellow Africans because Somalias worship their Arab masters.
This so called govt doesnt represent the whole of Somali they just control a portion of the country and are protected by UN peace keepers…if at all they were concerned let them send three aircrafts to airlift their people.
@5 Indigo Tyrol, I only spoke the truth. I have many Somali friends but haven’t been into their inner circle despite the many years of being together. There has never been a government in Somalia for many years. Their own Ambassador to Zambia was once humiliated here when his passport was said to be invalid. Some warlords have even offices in Kenya from where they issue these documents. Many that are now investing in filling stations are suspected to be using proceeds from piracy and drugs. Most differences result in death. We have lived with them for many years so we can’t continue to be aloof of their activities. There’s nothing wrong in doing that
One of Britain’s reasons to exit the EU was precisely because thay felt they could not take countrol of their own affairs with regard to among others imigration matters. Zambia must be very carefull but firm in dealing with these issues. We cannot have people coming in and walking out as they please. We have managed theough sweat and bloot to create a conducive environment for all who legally live here in Zambia. We are a peace loveing nation and that should not be taken for granted. Therefore the Somali authorities must careful and responsible in the statements they make regarding their nationals who are rounded up if they do not show cause of having proper imigration documents.
The very fact Somalia has a functioning government, able to concern itself with the well-being of it’s people in Zambia, suggests the Somalis should be back home. Otherwise, the Somalian government is overreaching itself here, isn’t it? Somalis are in Zambia in such great numbers, exactly because you, yourself are failing your people. And to feel so entitled as to even question motives behind the Immigration conducting it’s appointed duty, is beyond the pale – it sounds instructive in how not to handle Somali immigrants, however they came to Zambia. Improper!
Arrest and deport these filthy Somalis,they’re a security threat,they see themselves as Arabs not Africans and they use their hands and water bottle to wipe their rear ends.They will never integrate.
First and foremost I am very sorry for these people who find themselves in this situation of leaving their countries in search of better future for themselves and their families. No any human being loves to leave his or her country in order to be migrant or refugee. In the case of Somalians and Ethiopians, I am convinced that the push factors are greater that the pull ones.
The immigration department of Zambia should act with compassion regarding the Somalian and Ethiopian immigrants, first of all, few of them would like to stay in Zambia. Zambia is the country of transit, almost all migrants their destination is South Africa. In South Africa especially Durban and Cape Town there are large communities of Ethiopian and Somalian immigrants and they have better opportunities than staying…
Africans should move freely within Africa, Zambia included! HOWEVER, each country must safeguard their territory from unwanted immigrants especially those posing a threat to culture and national cohesion! ZAMBIA IS A COUNTRY OF LAWS AND ORDER, NOT A LAND OF WAR LORDS! WE ARE LARGELY CHRISTIAN AND DIFFERENT FROM MOSLEM EXTREMISTS! Next time I would be happy to read that Immigration department has rounded up and checked the so many Lebanese that Edgar Lungu and his PF brought into this country. WE DON’T HAVE MUCH IN COMMON WITH LABENESE AND SOMALIS AND THEIR INVESTMENTS ARE LARGELY DUBIOUS,NOT ADDING VALUE TO OUR RAW MATERIALS AND NOT CREATING QUALITY JOBS THAT WE NEED. WE CAN DO JUST WELL WITHOUT THEM! THOSE WHO ARE ANGRY THAT IMMIGRATION CHECKED THEM SHOULD LEAVE US PEACEFULLY, AND…
Zambia is being taken over by foreigners due to our weakness. As these jihadists increase, we will have situations where they starting holding Zambians at ransom and bombing those who don’t agree with their religion. It is better for them to migrate to Muslim countries which share their culture and religion.
Very dangerous people……..
Even in the UK ,, Somalis make up the largest rape convicts in prisons as a percentage of representative population…………
Very dangerous people……..
Even in the UK ,, Somalis make up the largest rapists in prisons as a percentage of representative population…………
Chendabusiku – That was one of the reasons the far right used to get out of the EU and it was a blatant lie that is costing them today…people coming in from outside the EU are mainly skilled people and students who apply for VISAs. They lied to the people that if they left the EU illegal immigration from France will stop but people are still swimming across the channel in summer in their hundreds on dinghys or small inflated boats.
That decision has cost England dearly today there is shortage of HGV drivers to move haulage and get produce to supermarket shelves….there is a shortage pig farm workers to slaughter animals, shortage of fruit pickers.
Tarinnyo we are in zambia here and not the UK. Don’t tell us your problems there in UK. Frankly we don’t give a fark
The most classic adage regarding trolling is, “Don’t feed the trolls.” Trolls seek out emotional responses and find provocation amusing, so replying to them or attempting to debate them will only make them troll more. By ignoring a troll completely, they will likely become frustrated and go somewhere else on the internet.
You should try your best not to take anything trolls say seriously. No matter how poorly they behave, remember these people spend countless unproductive hours trying to make people mad. They’re not worth your time of day.
Kaizar Zulu STFU ,when your PF mongrels were in power you let Chinese and Indians colonize Zambia and abuse immigration rules.
These people regardless of what some may say are our brothers and sisters.
Let us not behave in such a manner, when you go to Addis Ababa for whatever reason business or to attend a workshop or seminar, do you not see how welcoming our Ethiopian brothers are to you? Why treat your fellow African in such a manner?
Do unto others as you would like them to do into you.
We are not Hutus or Zulus we are better than this xenopobic nonsense.
Our father Kenneth Kaunda would cry to see such actions against our fellow Africans.
I’m sorry to see my african brothers after so long period, there mentality unchanged due to the wrong direction colonial education, they forgot when struggling for freedom, those Africans who were helping supporting them in the hard time . Now n then u wait your term.Ruwanda,Nageria congo,somalia……..now Ethiopia,,MALI. Who’s the next?!! Maybe U
Zambia is a Bantu land, all these West Africans, Chinese, Indians, Lebanese, Somalis & Ethiopians do not belong and must be repatriated to their own countries ASAP
Catch Chinese why your fellow Africans. The only issue with Somalians is that they can be a security hazard, they live in their own bubbles and very racist. Unlike the Rwandese who live within the Zambian communities, work hard and contribute to our economy.
One has to look how the Somalians came to Zambia. When Rhodesia closed its board with Zambia in 1965 Zambia used to airlift fuel from Dar es Salaam and this proved costly. In the mean time KK and Nyerere agreed and goods to Zambia started coming in by road. The Italian govt provided FIAT trucks and then most Zambian were ill equipped to drive such trucks and the only place where experienced drivers were available was Somalia as they were already using same trucks across East Africa. A joint venture company ZAMTAN was formed by Zambia and Tanzania and its Head Office was in Kitwe the place now called ZAMTAN compound near Kafue river bridge as one enters Kitwe from East. Somalians were recruited in big numbers as drivers and goods trucked from Dar to Ndola via the famous Hell Run road,…
A few weeks ago, a Somali youngman butchered Sir David Amess in cold blood inside a church in Essex, a conservative MP for over 40years. I used to drive around Streatham in South London and will see many somalians chewing on khat, never met any professional somali in London, I have met them in the criminal justice system and psychiatric setting.
Zambia has immigration laws just as any other country in Africa, if they are asked why they were rounded up they should give an answer clearly.
One thing I can point out here is that people should learn to interact with the people they live with that would clear some misconceptions from some suspicious people.
The other point is people move on to other countries because of different factors, others it could be business and other things.
The big problem i have with Somalians here is Zambia is that they don’t know and like integrating with the local people. Just come to Ndola and observe how these guys operate. They have their own market in Ndeke and have chosen to support each other. Its only in rare circumstances that you will find a Somalian buying from Zambia shop bu they choose to buy from their own kind. They are buying prime land in Ndola at the expense of Zambians because they are offering dollars and local authorities are reaping from them. The is one who bought a plot and blocked a council gazetted road with a wall making the neighbour to have no access to their homes and the local authorities has never done anything about it. They come with dirty pirate dollars to Zambia clean it withing by buying properties…
@24 Vision 2020, This where you miss it!! Ethiopians welcome you NOT because they like you! They do so to promote their country as a hub for their airline so that they get your money! A peaceful and loving people are seen by the way they live peacefully among themselves! Those brothers and sisters in the Horn of Africa (Eritrea,Ethiopia,Djibouti and Somalia) are always differing and fighting amongst themselves. How much peace do you expect them to bring to us who already live peacefully within our diversity?! Not too long ago, a Somalian killed a Zambian who was working for him for merely asking for his over due wages, yet you want more of such without proper documentation?! A few weeks ago another Somalian killed an MP in the UK! Under PF, institutions were compromised and Somalians…