Munyaradzi Mashiri- Court Correspondent
Twenty-four Ethiopian nationals have been fined US$100 each after pleading guilty to violating Zimbabwe’s immigration laws.
The group, comprising twelve women—including Bekeret Kebede Sorato—and twelve men, among them Mihretu Bekele Debisa, admitted to failing to present themselves to immigration officials upon arrival at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
Prosecutor Mandirasa Chigumira represented the State.
The court heard that on March 17, the group landed in Harare around 12:40pm aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa. Upon disembarking, they bypassed immigration formalities and instead proceeded directly to the transit lounge, awaiting an Eswatini Airline Flight RN401 to Manzini, Eswatini.
Later that evening, at around 7pm, the group attempted to board the Eswatini flight. However, immigration authorities, alerted to the situation, inspected the aircraft and found that none of the individuals had obtained the required transit visas. They were immediately disembarked and arrested.
In mitigation, the group's lawyers told the court that the accused were peace-loving individuals en route to attend a church program.
The court imposed a US$100 fine on each individual, pending their deportation for failure to comply with immigration procedures.
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