At least 5000 Ethiopian migrants are jailed in various Tanzanian detention centers, a senior Ethiopian offical has said.
Speaking at a relevant meeting in Hossana town in Southern Ethiopia, dwelling on the challenges of human trafficking, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Demeke Mekonnen said there are at least 5000 prisoners who entered Tanzania illegally.
Tanzania has intercepted illegal immigrants for decades from Ethiopia and Somalia who crossed into the country illegally on their way to South Africa.
The east African nation is a major transit route for migrants, used by human traffickers to ferry Ethiopians and Somalis to South Africa and Europe.
Ethiopian migrants, mostly young people who are in their early 20’s, reportedly pay traffickers up to $2,000 to reach South Africa. Some traffickers have safe houses and contacts in Tanzania and Malawi where the migrants are kept on transit before reaching their final destinations.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, human trafficking and illegal migration have remained the major challenges to Ethiopia next to conflict in the northern part of the country and young people living in the Southern part of the country are highly affected by human trafficking.
The discussion came after bodies of 27 Ethiopian migrants were found on the roadside in Ngwerere area north of Zambia’s capital, Lusaka.
The migrants, all of whom are men, were believed to have died as a result of suffocation while in transit.
