By Deborah Madeya:
The Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services has disclosed that it has arrested 513 irregular immigrants between January 2025 and March 2026.
According to the department, many of those detained are nationals of countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Ethiopia.
The department says most of these were either in transit to other countries or residing in Malawi without valid documentation.
Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services deputy spokesperson Francis Chitambuli told The Daily Times that the department was working with stakeholders, including the police, social welfare, National Intelligence Service and the Judiciary, to curb cases of irregular migration.
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He said cases of illegal entry were rampant along the Northern Region corridor.
“We conduct random patrols and have permanent roadblocks across the country, which we use to track, apprehend, prosecute, repatriate and deport immigration law-breakers.
“We are also involving community members by engaging them in awareness campaigns, encouraging them to report suspicious individuals in their locality [to the authorities]. We are reviewing the current laws by incorporating new concepts to ensure they are in line with changes related to migration,” Chitambuli said.
Mzuzu University security analyst Aubrey Kabisala said undocumented migrants posed a threat to the country’s security.
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“Irregular migration is quite difficult to combat and may sometimes involve human trafficking. One wonders how people from Ethiopia manage to travel to Malawi through Kenya and Tanzania without being apprehended. That is why we need to work with other countries, because these individuals are sometimes involved in human smuggling or may be plotting terrorist attacks against another country,” Kabisala said.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Homeland Security launched a new initiative, dubbed ‘Better Migration Management Programme, with the aim of improving migration governance in the country.
