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With 1m/-, aliens can corruptly buy residence permits
2006-02-25 08:02:15
By Bilham Kimati
Class’C’ Residence Permit, meant for foreign students, missionaries, and volunteers, can be secured for anything between $200 (238,000) and $1,000 (1.19m/-) depending on the urgency and the financial ability of the alien-applicant.
The scheme, The Guardian has established, is a mafia-like cartel, masterminded and operated by former immigration officials.
The either sacked or retired civil servants, we have established, have teamed up with unscrupulous individuals closely linked to some religious organisations in a countrywide network that is allegedly selling forged class ’C’ residence permits to aliens.
Ordinarily, the respective applicants receive the permits upon payment of $160 (190,400/-) at the Immigration Department.
Sources privy of the operations of the illicit group indicated that the beneficiaries of the forged documents are either unsuspecting aliens or illegal immigrants operating in the country.
The network, according to a source (name withheld), targets some prayer houses that are said to offer sanctuary to illegal immigrants.
Investigations by The Guardian in Arusha established that some members of the cartel are said to have forged close ties with clergymen at the helm of some religious ministries in the country for the purpose of concealing their ’clients’ within their flocks.
To ensure a smooth stay for the aliens after issue of ’residence permits’, the operatives, our investigations established, affiliate their ’clients’ to various churches and mosques.
For the Christian aliens, they are directed to make attachment with various churches\’ groups such as choir, prayer and fellowship groups among others.
But for their Muslims counterparts, they are instructed to zealously attend daily prayer sessions in accordance with the doctrine as a way of familiarising themselves with the local community and avert suspicion.
Odegen Sumari,52, of Ngarenaro Pentecostal Church showed this reporter three people alleged to be aliens from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who were in the church just having arrived into the country.
’They have just been here for two weeks now. In fact they are already talking of travelling to Dar es Salaam,’ said Sumari as he confirmed the church was frequently used to host aliens.
But on the suburbs of Arusha, this reporter encountered Jafar Sudi, 49, and Abdi Salehe,40, who confirmed that in Moshono and Kijenge Mosques, there were aliens from Burundi.
At the time, there were six aliens holed up at the Moshono Mosque.
Despite operating countrywide, the network is said to have its hub of operations in Arusha.
The town, hosting the East Africa Community headquarters is said to be the focal point in the issuance of fake Tanzania travel documents and residence permits to aliens.
The network is said to be conducting the lucrative activities at the behest of some senior government official said to individually benefit from the shadowy dealings at the expense of an influx of illegal aliens into the country.
However, pundits believe the activities of the cartel could have ushered thousands of illegal immigrants into the streets of Tanzania, subsequently comprising on security.
When contacted, the Immigration Department, Public Relations Officer, Herbert Chilambo, was emphatic that the syndicate was in no doubt the work of high-level collaboration of people ’knowledgeable of the immigration procedures.’
He blamed the cartel for the recent influx of illegal immigrants into the country.
’Although this office can easily differentiate forged documents from genuine ones, the involvement of some former immigration officials cannot be ruled out,’ said Chilambo.
A cross section of churchgoers in Arusha, confirmed the regular arrival of foreigners in their midst courtesy of the church leaders.
’This (arrival of strangers) has been going on for a long time. We have people from the DRC in many churches and mosques here in Arusha,’said one of the worshippers who requested for anonymity.
After some time, the worshipper disclosed, most of the aliens eventually acquire Tanzanian passports after familiarization.
Sources from the regional immigration office in Arusha spoke of the difficulty in sorting out genuine applicants from non-eligible ones as the forms submitted for processing initially lacked endorsement of the respective local community leaders.
Unless stringent measures are expeditiously put in place, continued the source, the introduction of an electronically controlled passports system to prevent forgery may be rendered meaningless.
But on his part, Chilambo appealed to the general public to handle, with the seriousness they deserve, matters of national security by reporting to respective authorities the presence of suspicious aliens.
Chilambo said: ’It is not possible to post immigration officers all over the country at the same time but the general public could help identify those living in the country illegally for their own safety and the national security.’
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