… 22 deported to Zambia
LAKE LIAMBEZI – Following a New Era exposé on the widespread plunder of fishery resources involving illegal immigrants, law enforcement authorities swung into action and rounded up scores of illegal fishermen this week.
The joint seek-and-seize operation that took place on Tuesday involving members of the Namibian Police, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marines Resources, and Customs and Immigration culiminated in the arrest of 161 illegal fishermen from Zambia, Angola and Zimbabwe on Lake Liambezi. Although Lake Liambezi in Muyako was the main theatre of the joint clean-up operation it also covered rivers and tributaries in Lusu and Sangwali.
According to regional police spokesperson, Seargent Kisco Sitali, of the 161 foreign fishermen arrested, 22 of them are Zambians who have already been deported without being charged.
“We have seven Zimbabweans, 10 Angolans and 144 Zambians, 22 of whom have already been deported without being charged. We are going to lay charges against the remaining suspects for contravening immigration laws. All of them were arrested at Lake Liambezi,” Sitali informed New Era. Like sardines the detainees who sneaked into Namibia to plunder its fish illegally crammed the police cells in Katima Mulilo and Ngoma, according to Sergeant Sitali. He said space constraints would not deter the police and the department of immigration from charging the culprits, since this was the only option to curtail illegal fishing. “Yes it is true the police cells are overwhelmed. However, that will not prevent us from charging the remaining suspects even though it will be expensive and cumbersome for us. This is the only way we will be able to deal with these illegal fishermen who after being deported always come back,” said Sitali.
“We have issues of cattle herders who are registered. Some of them are found fishing, which is wrong. If we find them fishing we are going to arrest them, because they are not permitted to do so. This has created an opportunity for foreign fishermen who are now escaping and running to villages pretending to be cattle herders and the villagers harbouring them. We are going to make sure that those who harbour illegal immigrants are dealt with,” the police officer warned.
The joint operation, which started eight days ago, involves three teams that are patrolling areas in Muyako, Lusu, Zilitene, Lianshulu and Sangwali. Despite previous operations the alleged illegal activities are spreading to new fishing grounds that have sprung up in areas such as Sangwali, Lianshulu, Lusu, Zilitene and Masokotwani. It is believed that foreign fishermen enter Namibia under the pretext of visiting, only to engage in illegal fishing. Locals are allegedly offered large sums of money by these illegal foreign fishermen to keep quiet about the illicit plunder of the fishery resources.
“We have confiscated some fish and fishing nets, which we are keeping at our offices. We also found some of the essentials that the fishermen were using such as blankets and pots. We normally donate the fish to charity organisations after being examined by health inspectors,” said fisheries senior biologist in the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Damian Nchindo, who is part of the joint seek-and-seize team.
According to statistics obtained from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, last year alone over 300 illegal foreign African fishermen were deported.
There is a large market for freshwater fish from the Zambezi Region at Kasumbalesa, a border town between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia, which is said to be driving foreigners to flock to the Zambezi Region in large numbers in search of fish. Foreigners often camp for days on small islands that are dotted all over the lake, in makeshift structures to catch huge quantities of fish, which they transport to their countries at the expense of locals.
According to information obtained from the police at Lake Liambezi, crews on some of the boat patrols find it difficult to detect suspects in these isolated islands as the water is said to be too shallow in some areas to approach the islands. However, there are plans to conduct air patrols with helicopters over the lake during the ongoing operation.
By George Sanzila