Malawi Police arrest 24 illegal immigrants in a forest

Malawi Police have arrested 24 illegal immigrants who were hiding at Ekwendeni Forest in Mzimba District.

The illegal lags, all men, comprises of four Somalians and 18 Ethiopians with two whose nationalities were not yet established, according to Northern Region Police Public Relations Officer Norrah Chimwala.

Chimwala said villagers tipped off Police at Ekwendeni Trading centre after they noticed ‘strange’ people living in the forest.

Chimwala: Arrest illegal lags

She said they have been charged with illegal entry.

“Illegal immigrants pose great challenges for the country as some could be carriers of strange diseases as they are not screened by health officials since they used uncharted routes from their home countries,” Chimwala said.

The Police Publicist also said illegal immigrants also put a strain on social amenities meant for the indigenes.

“They can take up jobs and even businesses from local people, so there is need to report them to Police”

There is a rise in cases of illegal immigrants into Malawi and according to deputy commissioner of police George Kainja, it is estimated that Malawi is home to 279,000 illegal immigrants, according to

The increasing cases of illegal immigrants are blamed on  Malawi’s porous borders .

Ethiopians, Somalis, Burundians, Rwandese, Indians, Pakistanis and now Chinese nationals make up the majority of illegal immigrants found in Malawi.

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