Home | News | 4 TANZANIANS HELD FOR WORK PERMITS

4 TANZANIANS HELD FOR WORK PERMITS

03/11/2020 00:54:00 BY SIBUSISO SHANGE

Font size:

MBABANE – Four Tanzanian nationals have been arrested for entering and remaining in Eswatini without valid documents.

They are Nassor Rashid (36), Mbaraka Juma (34), Masaka Bakari (40) and Kumbalu Mohammed (31).

The quartet was arrested while in Mbabane and all admitted that they remained in the country without valid permits.

However, they were quick to inform the court that they entered the country legally.

Any person entering Eswatini is required to possess a valid travel document. If the person desires to remain in the country for some time, he/she is required to possess a residential or work permit.

Expiry

The quartet claimed they found themselves on the wrong side of the law after the expiry of their work permits in the country. They further told the court that they made means to renew their work permits; however, they couldn’t access services at the Ministry of Home Affairs due to the strict regulations enforced following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Magistrate Xolile Nxumalo asked the quartet if they were aware that borders were operational.

Nxumalo further asked if they had started processing the work permits.

“We have not started applying for the permits due to lack of finances,” they said.

One of the Tanzanians claimed that he was told to prepare E250 for the documents and couldn’t afford the money since he was unemployed.

They stated that their work permits expired just after government introduced the partial lockdown, which resulted in the temporary suspension of certain services.

Nxumalo warned the quartet to apply for the proper documents so that they could not find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

She sentenced the quartet to three months imprisonment with an option to pay a fine of E500 each.

Meanwhile, one of the Tanzanians caused laughter when he requested the court interpreter to use siSwati when reading the charge.

“Use siSwati please,” Bakari said to the laughter of those present in court. His countrymen opted for the English language.

They struggled with the court jargon.

The court would now and again warn them against saying ‘yeah’ when responding to questions asked by the court.