Immigration Removed 143 Illegal Immigrants, Deports Tanzanian Convict

By Pauline Ngozoh

The Department of Immigration on Tuesday, 22nd September 2026, removed 143 illegal immigrants from Zambia and deported one Tanzanian prohibited immigrant in a mass removal and deportation operation.

According to Chief Public Relations Officer Namati Nshinka, the 143 comprised 133 Burundians, seven Rwandans and three Tanzanians. He said some had been convicted of various immigration-related offences and were removed after paying their respective court fines, while others were removed without prosecution.

In the same operation, the Department deported 40-year-old Tanzanian national Misheck Francis Bundala following his release from lawful custody after serving a prison sentence for drug trafficking-related offences.

Bundala was convicted by the Lusaka Magistrate Court on 27th May 2024 on two counts of trafficking in psychotropic substances and was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour on the first count and one year and six months on the second count, with sentences running concurrently. Following his release, he was handed over to Immigration and deported as a prohibited immigrant.