By Silence Charumbira
Namibian police have arrested 60 foreigners, mostly Zimbabwean members of apostolic sects suspected to be staying and working illegally in Windhoek’s Khomas Region.
Inspector Christina Van-Dunem Da Fonsech, police spokesperson in the Khomas Region, said several illegal Zimbabwean immigrants were being arrested in Namibia almost on a daily basis.
She said they had in their custody 42 adults and 19 children that were now waiting for deportation.
“The situation is getting worse. Most of them come as visitors and we then realise that they begin to work without documents,” Fonsech said.
“Some of them become healers and these are the most problematic because we feel there is a danger with their medicines which could be harmful to our people,” she said.
Fonsech said some of the migrants become pastors, prophets and witchdoctors after a few days in the country and accuse them of fanning disintegration of societies.
“Most of them are in the habit of telling people that they have been bewitched by their neighbours or relatives and as police, we do not like it when people divide our societies,” she said.
“Last year, we caught another person working as a traditional healer and he later confessed that he has been conning people for four years. It is a very serious matter because the herbs they use could be dangerous.”
For decades, Zimbabweans have been flocking to neighbouring countries in search of greener pastures while fleeing from the crumbling economy devoid of opportunities. NewsDay