TANZANIAN TRUCK DRIVER FINED K80,000 FOR AIDING UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS
Lusaka… Wednesday April 30, 2025 (SMART EAGLES)
The Mpika Magistrate Court on 29th April, 2025 convicted and sentenced a 54-year-old Tanzanian truck driver, Charles Michael Lumato to a fine of K80,000 or, in default, to serve two years simple imprisonment for aiding 37 undocumented Ethiopian nationals.
Lumato was apprehended on 23rd March 2025, at the Mpika Weigh Bridge by a joint team of Immigration and Police officers after they discovered 37 Ethiopian nationals, aged between 14 and 39, locked inside the truck he was driving.
According to Immigration Department Chief Public Relations Officer Namati Nshinka, the group was found after Lumato, prompted by loud banging noises from the container, opened it, inadvertently exposing the individuals inside who were struggling to breathe due to exhaustion and lack of oxygen.
Mr Nshinka explains that on the same day, all 37 Ethiopian nationals were convicted and sentenced to fines ranging from K1,500 to K5,000 or, in default, nine months simple imprisonment for failing to appear before the nearest immigration officer upon entry into Zambia.
“The truck and trailer used to transport the individuals have been conditionally forfeited to the State. These convictions bring the total number of convictions secured by the Department of Immigration on 29th April, 2025 to 72,” he said in a statement obtained by Smart Eagles.
“Further, in Western Province, the Senanga Immigration Office on 29th April, 2025 apprehended a
51-year-old Zambian national, Emmanuel Choza, for harbouring two undocumented Congolese nationals, a mother and her 13-year-old son, and for assisting the woman in fraudulently obtaining a Zambian National Registration Card. Mr. Choza was arrested within the Magistrate Court premises where he had gone to attend the woman’s court hearing on illegal entry charges. Preliminary investigations revealed that Choza had housed the woman for two years and later facilitated the arrival of her son from Congo to join them in Zambia.”
Mr Nshinka also disclosed that, on the Copperbelt Province, a routine operation by officers from the Kasumbalesa Border Control on the night of 29th April, 2025 led to the apprehension of 15 suspected illegal immigrants in the Chewe and Kwashimutale areas.
“The group includes 13 Congolese nationals, one Tanzanian, and one individual claiming to be Zambian. They face charges ranging from illegal entry and unlawful stay to possession of multiple travel documents without authority. All suspects are detained pending prosecution,” he added.
“Additionally, on the same day, the Department removed 16 illegal immigrants from the country and refused entry to six individuals who failed to meet Zambia’s entry requirements.”
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