Scrutinise foreigners

NOT every person entering Zambia does so with good intentions. Some of the people coming to our country, do with the intention of striking it rich in any way possible.
It is therefore not surprising that some foreign nationals have found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
A case in point is the matter involving a Cameroonian national jailed for five years for stealing his girl friend’s money.
We also fully agree with the observation by Lusaka Magistrate Nsunge Chanda that Zambia’s laws are flexible on foreigners who have found fertile ground to breed or commit crime.
Magistrate Chanda made these observations last week she sentenced a Cameroonian national, identified as Michael Kayu, to five years imprisonment with hard labour for stealing K62, 000 from his Zambian girlfriend, Beauty Tembo, meant for purchase of her motor vehicle.
It would appear that some Zambian women have fallen prey to conmen pretending to be offering love and maybe marriage when their eyes are firmly on the women’s money.
This calls for serious scrutiny of all foreigners entering the country for ‘business’. They should clearly state the ‘business’ they intend to conduct in the country.

We feel that if foreigners’ relationships with local women for the purpose of the foreigners getting protection from law enforcement officers in cases where they transgress the law or the law enforcement officers getting kickbacks from the foreigners in order to shield them from prosecution, then it has to be discouraged.

Magistrate Chanda is right to protect the interest of locals who might fall victim to these conmen who come in the name of wanting to do business when they just want to fleece women.
The sad part, like the magistrate pointed out, is that our laws seem to allow these criminals to enter freely to do their fishy business activities.

Unfortunately, in some cases, law enforcement officers actually know the foreign nationals involved in crime and what criminal activities they are involved in but have instead decided to either pay a blind eye or help them escape the arm of the law simply because they “eat” with them.

Like Magistrate Chanda has rightly observed, the foreigners should be made to clearly understand that certain things they cannot do while in Zambia because it is against the law and there could obviously be consequences for doing so.

“It saddens me that our laws are very flexible such that foreigners are freely committing crime. When you are in Zambia you must live within the confines of the law and if you choose to break the law, I will show you the consequences,” said Magistrate Chanda.

She said, “Most foreigners have found fertile ground to breed crime. If you appear before me, you have to feel the wrath of the law. I therefore sentence you to five years imprisonment with hard labour with effect from today,” she told Kavu when she sentenced him.

Indeed, there should never be any special treatment given to foreign nationals when they commit crime. They are simply criminals just like any other criminals, period. Foreigners should also be made to understand that they ought to respect the laws of our land.