Tanzania arrests 30 Ethiopians in ongoing crackdown on illegal immigrants
The arrests of the suspects, who remain in custody pending arraignment, come just weeks after a Tanzanian truck driver was prosecuted and fined in Zambia for facilitating the movement of undocumented Ethiopian immigrants to Southern Africa through Tanzania.
Police in Tanzania have arrested 30 Ethiopian nationals for illegally entering the country. The suspects, who were en route to South Africa, were apprehended at a maize farm in Tanzania's Kilimanjaro area, after reportedly being abandoned by their traffickers.
According to Kilimanjaro Regional Immigration Officer Augustino Malembo, the arrests were made following a tip-off from members of the public through the "Know Your Neighbour" initiative, which is active in Moshi Municipality.
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The arrests of the suspects, who remain in custody pending arraignment, come just weeks after a Tanzanian truck driver was prosecuted and fined in Zambia for facilitating the movement of undocumented Ethiopian immigrants to Southern Africa through Tanzania.
Findings from the International Organisation for Migration indicate that at least 15,000 immigrants sneak into Tanzania annually to gain entry into Southern African states.
The immigrants often pay fees ranging from approximately $3000 to $5000 (Sh387,600 - Sh644,116) to traffickers who will then transport them to their intended destinations using oil and cargo-ferrying trucks.
In the financial year 2024/25, a total of 46,898 illegal immigrants were deported from South Africa, signifying an 18 per cent increase compared to a year earlier, when 36,672 illegal immigrants were deported.
According to a 2024 report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), human trafficking and especially child trafficking is a major problem for many African states.
"Trafficked children are more frequently detected than adults in most parts of the continent. In West Africa and East Africa, both boys and girls are more typically trafficked for forced labour, including domestic work," the report titled Trafficking in Persons in and from Africa: a global responsibility, reads.
"Girls are also commonly reported as trafficked for sexual exploitation across the whole continent."
The trafficking of children for begging is also reported across the whole continent, according to UNODC.
"In North and West Africa, child trafficking to beg has been linked to the practice of sending boys to residential religious schools. Cases of students (talibe or almajiris) being exploited for forced begging by their teachers (called marabouts or mallams) have been reported by international organisations."
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