BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—At least 250 Malawians who were staying illegally in Tanzania have been fined and others jailed, Maravi Post has learnt.
According to The Nation the accused people were fined one million Tanzania shillings (357 000) each for entering and working in the country without permits.
The paper indicates that those who failed to pay the fine were slapped with a six-month jail term, and will only be repatriated after the expiry of the jail term.
Songwe Immigration Office spokesperson Yusuf Shaibu told the local paper that those arrested are all from Nkhata Bay and have been illegally staying in Dar es Salam, most of them working as house and shopkeepers.
“Reports indicate that Tanzanian authorities last Friday announced that they would wish to meet all foreigners to process their documents to enable them stay legally in that country.
“This idea attracted most Malawians living in the country. They went to the said meeting only to find police and immigration vehicles waiting for them,” said Shaibu as quoted by The Nation.
He said sources also indicated that, they were taken to Burguruni Police where they were told to fill residential permit application forms, but surprisingly they were eventually told that they were under arrest of illegal stay.
“They were further taken to Chisutu High Court on Monday, where some were ordered to pay a fine of one million Tanzania Shillings while others were told to pay 500 000 shillings, or in default, to serve a six-month jail term, and thereafter be repatriated to Malawi,” Shaibu added.
Those that failed to pay the fines were sent to Ukongwa and Segerea Prisons, where they will be working in maize, tobacco and banana plantations.
Meanwhile, some of the 1103 Malawians trapped at South Africa’s holding facility in Johannesburg, Lindela, last Wednesday appeared before court to answer charges of illegal stay or lack of work permits.