RESPONSE to President Jakaya Kikwete’s
directive for aliens in Kagera Region to leave the country or be
forcefully removed has been positive with almost 7,000 illegal residents
leaving the country in the past fortnight.
President Kikwete had asked the aliens
to leave lest security and defence organs force them to do so when
addressing the public during celebrations to mark the Heroes Day in
Muleba District, Kagera Region, on July 25. The deadline expired on
Sunday.
Despite the positive response, security
organs have vowed to launch a special operation to root out illegal
immigrants, sources have said, with the Kagera Regional Commissioner, Mr
Fabian Massawe, stressing that all logistics to start the operation are
ready.
According to the Kagera Regional Police
Commander, Mr Philip Kalangi, at least 6,780 illegal immigrants have
crossed borders and returned to their home countries from the region
since the president’s directive. Similarly, about 1,600 cattle have been
taken back to Rwanda by their owners through Rusumo border point
between Saturday and Sunday.
The RPC said that it is also estimated
that about 5,000 cattle have been taken back to Uganda through illegal
routes since the directive and that a total of 20 homemade guns have
been surrendered at different police stations throughout the region.
However, according to our sources, at
least one sub-machine gun (SMG) has also been surrendered to the police
in the region. Among those who have returned home through official
routes, 4,377 are Rwandans, 2,219 Burundians and 174 Ugandans.
The source, who witnessed the aliens
leaving, said that those who crossed the border to Rwanda could be seen
being welcomed by that country’s officials, indicating the government
has been keenly following the events. It is also estimated that those
who returned to their country through illegal routes may have numbered
20,000 since the president issued the directive.
Although almost all of those who left
the country are from neighbouring countries, the government has
repeatedly said that no citizens of a particular country had been a
target, the main objective being to curb incidents of armed robbery and
illegal grazing.
“The aim was to rid the country of
illegal immigrants as well as people who have encroached into wildlife
management areas (WMA) and catchment areas that are a lifeline for Lake
Victoria,” the source said.
President Kikwete’s warning came in the
wake of a recent incident in which a group of heavily armed bandits
ambushed several buses along the Muleba-Biharamulo Road and robbed
passengers of their belongings whose value was yet to be established.
“We cannot allow Tanzanians to be
terrorized by a few criminals,” he said, adding that the government
would soon conduct an operation involving the Tanzania People’s Defence
Forces (TPDF), police, immigration and intelligence officials to
confiscate the firearms. The operation would cover three regions of
Kagera, Geita and Kigoma.
The president also challenged the
immigration department to ensure that the screening of foreigners who
are hiding in villages was conducted thoroughly. Kagera Region, for
example, has an estimated 35,000 illegal immigrants. He warned that if
the exercise was not done properly, Tanzania would face an enormous task
after a period of 50 or 60 years.
He noted that some of the leaders,
including village executive officers (VEO), ward executive officers
(WEO) and councillors had turned themselves into immigration officers as
they were busy issuing illegal residence permits. “Illegal issuance of
residence permits is done in broad daylight and leaders in this region
keep a blind eye.
This is corruption because your services
are bought at a very low price and the aliens know this. That is why
the number of aliens keeps rising,” the president said.
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