Human rights groups in Malawi have expressed concern that there are 120 Ethiopians in Malawi prisons including children who were arrested for illegally entering Malawi.
An official from Centre for Human Rights Legal Resource Centre Mhango said some of the Ethiopians have stayed in Malawi jails as long as two years, describing it as illegal detentions.
He said there were many Ethiopian children at Kachere Juvenile Prison in Lilongwe who are living in pathetic conditions as sometimes they can go days without food.
“They are living in very appalling conditions, the building itself is dilapidated and can collapse any time,” he said.
He said other Ethiopians are kept at Dedza, Maula and Mzuzu prisons.
Prison officials confirmed there are many Ethiopians in prisons but said they were under the Immigration Department.
Immigration officials said the Ethiopians have stayed that long in prisons because the government has no money to send them back to their country.
They said most of them were caught using unchartered routes and without any travel document and visa and posed a security threat.
nyasatimes