21 Aug 2019

Government will continue arresting and repatriating illegal immigrants,  Nkange MP Mr Edwin Batshu has said.

Responding to a resident during a kgotla meeting in Nkange recently, the MP stated that it was wrong for people to enter the country through ungazetted points hence they ended up being arrested.

All people should abide by the country’s laws, he said.

The resident, Mr Lakidzani Tshekiso had asked government to review the deportation of illegal immigrants policy because they ended up coming back.

He proposed that instead of deporting them back to their countries, they should be taken to the refugee camp.

Mr Batshu explained that they could not be taken to the refugee camp because they were not asylum seekers.

He said the refugee camp was mostly for people fleeing from political instability in their countries.

Furthermore, he said some illegal immigrants were often criminals who had committed serious crimes ranging from murder to robbery and intended carrying out criminal activities in Botswana.

He said in Nkange  constituency, a good number of criminal cases brought before courts were committed by such people.

He said repatriation would continue and appealed to residents to desist from harbouring illegal immigrants.

On other issues, residents appealed to government to employ more surveyors at land boards and council to make access to services easier.

They said due to manpower shortage, customers were referred  to private operators who charged exorbitant fees.

Residents praised Mr Batshu for the work he had done during his tenure as MP.

They pleaded with him to continue being part of the constituency as an advisor and mentor. ENDS