By Vincent Gunde…….
The Malawi Police Service in conjunction with independent observers appointed by a court of law to oversee the ongoing exercise of force-opening and search of containers confiscated during the relocation of refugees back to Dzaleka Camp, has finished the exercise at Mgona market in Lilongwe.
The MPS says the team opened and searched 17 containers that were at Mgona market in Lilongwe and will proceed with those being kept at the National Police Headquarters (Area 30), an exercise which commenced from Monday, 28th August, 2023.
The Police are suspecting the containers to be safe-keeping of committing various crimes including illegal possession of firearms, foreign currencies (both local and foreign), illegal purchase of materials, agricultural produce, second-hand goods and scrap metals.
In a statement of updating Malawians on the ongoing force-opening and search of containers dated 6th September, 2023 the MPS says two Congolese and one Rwandan have since been arrested for operating businesses without licenses and other immigration-related charges.
‘’They have all been released on police bail as investigations continues,” reads the statement in part.
The MPS says as per the court order guiding the exercise, all containers (with owners present or not) are being opened and searched in the presence of independent stakeholders, police and Immigration officers.
The Police says Immigration officers are picking up criminal related matters after which all perishable goods are being disposed off through auction by a duly identified Auctioneer.
The MPS have assured Malawians, owners of containers, all concerned individuals and interested parties that the exercise is being done in an open and transparent manner in the presence of independent observers while upholding the rights of the rights of refugees.
A Refugee Rights Advocate who is also Chief Executive Officer of Inua Advocacy Innocent Magambi, has faulted the police statement wrong for not including firearms and counterfeit machines in updating Malawians.
Magambi says that the police statement does not reveal that the two Congolese nationals who were arrested were a mother and her 3- year- old child. They spent two nights at area 13 police station and no charge or charge sheets were levelled against the woman and the child.
He said their lawyer was expecting to represent them in court only to discover that the police had handed them over to the Immigration officers wondering why immigration officers are involved in issues affecting asylum seekers who travelled to Lilongwe from Dzaleka to respond to a police call to open the containers.
“Both the mother and a 3 -year-old child are out on bail not by police but Immigration and was told to report at the Immigration offices in Lilongwe every Thursday,” says Magambi.