Refugees, Asylum Seekers Forcefully Allocated

By Vitumbiko Mvula…….

Shops belonging to all refugees and asylum seekers remain unclosed in the city of Lilongwe as Malawi police service in conjunction with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship services have been picking and locking their houses.

Government through the ministry of Homeland Security on 27 March this year in a letter signed the the minister of the ministry Honourable Kenneth Zikhale N’goma gave a period of two weeks to refugees and asylum seekers to relocate to Dzaleka refugee camp in Dowa from 1 April to 16 April 2023.

Over 300 refugees and asylum seekers have been kept at Maula prison waiting to be sent to Dzaleka in Dowa. Among the picked are women and children.

Refugee Innocent Mgambi distresses that police officers are not allowing anyone to help them with food.

” Some children of the Refugees and asylum seekers children who went to school will go home only to find houses locked and the house is empty as their parents have been picked while they were at school.”

Malawi Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya said the exercise is going on smoothly with the engagement of different security agencies.

Some of the refugees and asylum seekers relocate themselves willingly when Government announced that they should all relocate to Dzaleka.

Government had set April 15 as deadline for all refugees and asylum seekers to relocate to Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa.

Government of Malawi has twice attempted the exercise in 2021 and in 2022 it ordered all Refugees and asylum seekers to relocate to Dzaleka by the end of November 2022 but the Malawi police service and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship services did not involve the picking and house closing exercise.