Date: Friday, 27 January 2017
https://zwnews.com/2017/01/26/zimbabwe-deports-34-illegal-immigrants-ethiopia/ Zimbabwe deports 34 illegal immigrants to Ethiopia BY Jairos Saunyama 27/01/2017 34 undocumented Ethiopian migrants were taken into custody after they were caught being moved around by smugglers. They will all be deported soon by the Zimbabwe Immigration Department. Among the illegal immigrants were four boys aged between 11 and 12, the individuals who are all men were arrested while hiding at a Marondera farm. They pleaded guilty on Tuesday before magistrate Shane Kubonera, who then convicted and discharged the group into the hands of immigration officials. On December 16 last year, the suspects were transported from Mutoko to Marondera en route to Beitbridge by Cletto Nyandoro and Gift Bere. They were allegedly later dropped at Plot 3, Bemba Farm in Marondera, by Nyandoro, who had gone to Marondera Town to buy food for them. Acting on a tip-off, Zimbabwe Police stormed the farm and arrested the suspects after discovering that they had no travel papers. -- http://www.africareview.com/news/Zimbabwe-to-deport-Ethiopians-immigrants/979180-3788104-format-xhtml-411ivo/index.html Zimbabwe to deport 34 Ethiopians Zimbabwe will deport 34 Ethiopian immigrants found hiding at a farm on their way to South Africa, local media reported on Thursday. The Ethiopians, who include four boys aged between 11 and 12, were arrested last month outside Harare and have been languishing in remand prison because the local court had no Amharic interpreter. On Tuesday, a magistrate's court convicted the men and the boys of violating the southern African country’s immigration laws and ordered their deportation. According to reports, the group arrived in Zimbabwe on December 16 last year through Mozambique. Human traffickers They were being transported by two local human traffickers who dropped them at a farm south east of Harare. The immigrants were arrested when their handlers went to Marondera town, about 66km from Harare, to buy them food. Police said they received a tip-off that the Ethiopians had no travel documents. Greener pastures African immigrants seeking a better life in the economically advanced South Africa use Zimbabwe as a gateway because of the country's porous borders. Thousands of Zimbabwean illegal immigrants cross to South Africa or Botswana every year to seek greener pastures. Zimbabwe’s borders were not only a den for human traffickers, but the country also loses millions of dollars to syndicates that smuggle goods from neighbouring countries.
