Zambian Immigration Officers Seize Passports of 70 Zimbabwean Truck Drivers

Text of report by Zambian newspaper Zambia Daily Mail website on 31 May

[Report by Kanyanta Katongo: "Immigration Confiscates Passports From 70 Zim Truck Drivers"]

Immigration officers in Lusaka have confiscated passports from 70 Zimbabwean truck drivers who have refused to return to their country following a dispute with their employer in Lusaka.

The drivers’ representative from SABOT Management Company of Lusaka’s Chawama Township disclosed this in an interview in Lusaka yesterday.

He said between 08:00 and 09:00 hours yesterday, they were visited by immigration officers who seized their passports and issued an ultimatum that all the drivers on go-slow must return to Zimbabwe by 17:00 hours yesterday.

The spokesperson said each time they come to Zambia, they are given 14 days to stay in the country before they can renew their stay.

“We don’t know why the immigration office is doing this to us when our conditions of service are bad… per week, we get 1.5 billion Zimbabwean dollars which is US$10 (and so) per month we get K40, 000 as our salary,” he said.

The truck drivers appealed to the Zambian government to consider their plight.

Company sources said the drivers were only told to return if they continued with their protest.

“The fact is they are on go-slow and they don’t want to work. So as the office that looks into such matters, we have decided to tell them to go back to their country and come back when they are ready,” he said.

Originally published by Zambia Daily Mail website, Lusaka, in English 31 May 08.

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