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The Karonga First Grade Magistrate's Court has on May 23,2022 convicted and sentenced Mesfin Alemu, 20 and thirteen other Ethiopians to serve a five-month jail term for entering Malawi without travel documents contravening Section 21 (1) as read with Section 37 (d) of the Immigration Act.
State Prosecutor,Sergeant Meston Zimba told the court that Police in Karonga district arrested the Fourteen Ethiopian Nationals in Tenenthe hills within Karonga after suspecting them to have entered Malawi illegally on May 20, 2022.
During the court hearing, they pleaded guilty to the offence and asked the court to exercise leniency saying economic challenges compelled them to leave their country.
In his submission, Zimba asked the court to impose stiff sentence on the convicts in order to deter would-be offenders.
Passing his sentence, magistrate Julius Kalambo concurred with the state's submission saying the malpractice is likely to compromise national security. He therefore sentenced them to five months imprisonment with hard labour.