By Innocent Kalikokha:
The Ministry of Homeland Security and United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) have expressed disappointment over the conduct of some locals who are posing as asylum seekers fleeing political violence in Mozambique.
They say the unscrupulous people are engaging in the act in order to get relief items in Nsanje District.
This was revealed on Monday during a stakeholders’ meeting which was organised to update stakeholders on measures that were being taken to screen Mozambicans who are seeking refuge in the district.
Senior administrative and operations manager in the Department of Refugees of the Ministry of Homeland Security Hilda Katema Kausiwa told The Daily Times after the meeting that they had encountered those indulging in the malpractice at Nyamithuthu camp, Traditional Authority Tengani.
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“Through our screening, done jointly with Immigration Department officials, we have noted that some Malawians are posing as Mozambicans. We have also noted that there are some Malawians who left the country previously for other activities and they have come back.
“For us, these people are categorised as returnees and they do not need to benefit from refuge [status] protection because they are not refugees,” Katema Kausiwa said.
UNHCR official Ahmed Bashir also expressed concern over the malpractice and joined Katema Kausiwa in calling on the authorities in the district to sensitise people to issues such as the negative effects of the conduct.
“The [screening] exercise is for Mozambicans whose lives could be in danger in Mozambique,” Ahmed said during the stakeholders’ meeting.
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On his part, Nsanje District commissioner Dominic Mwandira asked organisations to urgently provide potable water to areas within the camp’s perimeters as, currently, refugees are covering long distances to source water from nearby boreholes.
