Tanzania unveils measures to curb human trafficking

Tanzania has announced new measures to combat human trafficking in the east African nation.

Hamad Yusuf Masauni, Tanzania's home affairs deputy minister, said on Sunday here that the country has been a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking.

"That's why we've come up with new measures that will involve all security agencies and the public and the main target in the program will perpetrators of the barbaric business," he said, warning traffickers that their days are numbered as the Tanzanian government will squarely deal with them.

According to Masauni, immigration officers whose points serve as pathways of the aliens will not be spared either.

He maintained that the perpetrators of human smuggling into borders will not only be arrested but the government will also confiscate and nationalize their vehicles.

Speaking during his tour of the immigration department at the Tanzania-Kenya border in Namanga, the Tanzanian minister warned the perpetrators to shun the vice lest they get busted by the government.

"The state will confiscate such vehicles and the officers will be held responsible for such failures," he cautioned.

He said the government was not satisfied with the efforts of the immigration officers at Namanga border, as there were many aliens still finding their entry into the country through the border point.

"Some of these aliens collude with Tanzanians in looking for routes to enter the country," he said.

The deputy minister called for routine checks at the border point and on vehicle passing through the border to arrest perpetrators of the vice.

Daniel Chongolo, Longido District Commissioner, admitted that the area was prone to irregular immigrants as its geographical location that extends to the neighboring Kenya.

In recent years, Tanzania has witnessed an increasing flow of irregular migrants from the horn of Africa, especially Ethiopia and Somalia, who have been fleeing drought, economic deprivation, unemployment and conflicts to look for a better life outside their own country.

Tanzania has also become a transit corridor to Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia en route to South Africa and beyond. Endit