A 20 year-old double orphaned Malawian national last Thursday explained to the Chipata magistrate court how poverty forced him to stay into Zambia in search of piecework.
Mphatso Zimba, who was found guilty of one count of unlawful stay in Zambia, explained during mitigation, that he is an orphan doing Grade Seven, who needed money to settle his school fees.
Mphatso stated that he came from a poor family, which could not meet his needs and was forced to search for a job so that he could assist his brother, as he is a bread winner in the family.
He said that in his pursuit for employment, he came into Zambia and did not know that he was required to obtain documents to legalize his stay in the country and appealed to the court to exercise leniency on him.
Facts before the court were that, on August 28, 2019, Zimba being a Malawian national did fail to make his stay in Zambia Lawful as required by law.
The court heard that on the date in question, immigration officers who were conducting an operation in chief Chinunda’s area came across Mphasto Zimba, a Malawian national.
Principal Resident magistrate Humphrey Chitalu fined Zimba 500 Kwacha, or in default serve three month simple imprisonment.
The money should be paid before October 31st,2019
