Man jailed 9 months for human trafficking
Ntcheu First Grade Magistrate on Friday sentenced to nine months imprisonment a 20-year-old man Abdul Yasin for human trafficking.
Yasin who hails from Piyasi village, T/A Chowe Mangochi district was arrested on Wednesday (May 18th) trafficking 26 people using unchartered routes at Biriwiri border.
The court convicted him at his own plea.
Ntcheu police deputy Public Relations Officer Hastings Chigalu said on May 18th, during day time, law-enforcers conducting patrols around Biriwiri boarder intercepted 26 people who revealed during interrogation that they were on their way to South Africa.
“All of them had no traveling documents. It was discovered that Mr. Abdul was the one facilitating and had a vehicle hiding somewhere waiting to collect these people after they had covered some distance,” explained Chigalu.
Abdul arraigned on Trafficking In Persons charge contrary to Section 14 (1) OF Trafficking In Persons Act.
In mitigation, Abdul asked the court for leniency as he is the first offender, but in his ruling First Grade Magistrate Chrispin Sachuluka conquered with the prosecution that Human Trafficking is a serious Offence that required custodial sentence with no option of a fine.
Meanwhile all the 26 people- 23 males and 3 females- have been sent back to Mangochi.
“We as police will relentlessly intensify our day and night patrols so that this malpractice comes to a stop. Government spends millions of kwachas bringing home some Malawians, who faced different abuses in foreign countries, and most of them had no proper documents, so to see someone trafficking them back, it’s a very unwelcome development”.
This really sounds like a joke! How can 9 months ever deter anybody from carrying out this again !! Thank God for whoever gave this tip off. These innocent people would have suffered even being eaten by Leopards/Lions! These laws surely need help.