By Merlyn Mwanza
Foreign nationals have now been turned into ATM’s by corrupt law enforcement officials, a civil society organisation has charged.
In a latter addressed to Home Affairs minister Jack Mwiimbu by the Movement for Promoting National Values and Principles (MPNVP), an organisation that says it looks into the national values and principles, the organisation’s chairperson Joseck Kaunda stated that some law enforcement officers were extorting foreigners.
“We need to find a better way of dealing with our foreign nationals without stripping their dignity. It has now become an acceptable norm arresting and charging some foreign nationals and the circle keep repeating itself. We also have unfaithful law enforcement officers who take advantage of our foreign nationals by demanding for excessive monies. Foreign nationals have been turned into ATM’s by some of our corrupt officers,” Kaunda stated.
He stated that for sometime now, the rights, freedoms and liberties of our foreign nationals are trampled upon from time to time, saying the law enforcement agencies, among them the Zambia Immigration Department, the Zambia Police Service and the Correctional Facilities Services have been contending with challenges on how to treat the foreign nationals.
“Our Correctional Facilities are overwhelmed with high numbers of (a) Prohibited Immigrants (b) Asylum seekers (c) Refugees and the (d) Persons of concerns or Peculiar Immigrants whose status and category remain unknown. While we have enough legislature on how to deal with some prohibited immigrants, refugees and asylums, we are left unguided on how to treat peculiar immigrants whose category remain unknown. In 2013 during the Patriotic Front administration, a consensus was reached and a sensational clause was adopted where it was resolved that foreign nationals from Rwanda were no longer to be treated as refugees,” Kaunda stated. “Since December 1991, Zambia was declared a Christian Nation and as such, we need to be seen as doers or people that apply Christian Values and Principles. We can not be seen forcing, compelling or coercing foreign nationals returning to their home countries by force. There is an urgent need of repealing not only the parliamentary Act that regulates the refugees and foreign nationals in general but also reviewing some serious anomalies, inadequacies, irregularities, lacunas and gaps in the document written by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) published in September 2007.”
He urged Mwiimbu to put up a committee that must look into the Refugee Act and the cited 50 pages document written by the United Nations Agency responsible of the wellbeing of refugees.
“We also desperately need your guidance on how we need to be treating the foreign nationals from Rwanda. During the commemoration of World Refugee Day held recently, honorable Minister you made a promise and a commitment of looking into the interests of our foreign nationals. This was after some touching and moving experiences and testimonies were shared with you by the affected victims. The event was well represented having had your presence, the presence of the UNHCR Country representative, the Commissioner for Refugees Mr. Charles Malwita, the Deputy Director General for Immigration Mr. Enos Chibombe and the Permanent Secretary responsible of the refugees from Ministry of Home Affairs Mr. Dickson Matembo,” stated Kaunda. “Hon Minister we wish to bring to your attention the prevailing circumstances involving the foreign nationals who are always being arrested by the Law Enforcement Agencies. We have several prohibited immigrants who were fined by the honorable Courts and yet they still remain held up in detention facilities due to lack of modalities and logistics. Such individuals are victims of injustice and are suffering from double jeopardy. We can also not afford to be arresting our foreign nationals who have some refugee certificates. The natural course of justice can not allow us subjecting innocent people to torture, torment and inhumanity. The conditions in some correctional facilities is not only terrible but deplorable. We also have situations where the juveniles are made to mix with the elderly ones which in itself is a taboo and an abomination from our cultural and traditional viewpoint.”
