Time illegal aliens were kept away

 THIRTEEN illegal immigrants from Ethiopia, who were heading for a destination they have not revealed yet, got the shock of their lives when the lorry driver who was transporting them drove away at midnight, leaving them stranded at Mkuranga.

The driver vanished with the immigrants’ belongings and left them in a destitute situation. The residents reported the unusual sighting in their midst to patrol police and arrests were made immediately.

The immigrants, whose ages ranged between 18 and 30 years, are expected to appear in court on March 28 together with 67 other illegal immigrants who were caught at Mlandizi in Kibaha District last month. Incredibly, another group of 33 illegal immigrants were caught in Msoga Village in Chalinze District last month.

These have already been sentenced to six years in jail. It is imperative to point out here that this nation is downright tired with having to grapple with illegal immigrants who cross our borders through informal routes (panya routes) to avoid arrest and mingle with the population in urban centres, where some cause mayhem.

Other immigrants meet the ultimate ordeal in the course of travel in this country. In June, last year, 43 illegal immigrants from Ethiopia and Somalia died in a container truck in which they were travelling on their way to Malawi, as survivors claimed.

In 2008, some 36 aliens from the Democratic Republic of Congo were apprehended and were repatriated back home after legal action. During the same year 53 illegal immigrants from Somalia were rounded up and repatriated. In most cases the immigrants do not possess travel documents.

They often refuse to reveal their identities, and invariably, parade wrong names and nationalities. Immigration officers have virtually failed to control illegal immigrants, some of whom come to pursue greener pastures.

Most of these aliens normally avoid going through immigration procedures to avoid arrest, travel costs and mandatory fees. In most cases the aliens collude with locals, including corrupt immigration officers and police.

It is a statutory imperative that all sorts of illegal immigrants must be prevented from entering Tanzanian territory. It is high time the state stemmed the rot. Tanzania is for indigenous Tanzanians. Illegal immigrants, criminals and their cronies must stay away.

March 26, 2014