By Maria Tembo

Ntchisi, August 1, Mana: Business operators from Malomo Trading Centre in Ntchisi District on Monday marched to the office of the District Commissioner (DC) to submit a petition to have foreign nationals of Burundi and Rwanda removed from the trading centre.

The demonstrators argued, among other concerns, that the foreign nationals were operating illegally and were also a security risk as sometimes they converge at night and gunshot sounds come from their meeting.

Reading the petition before handing it over to the DC, Lusizi Nhlane, the group’s chairperson, Yatimu Hamazi said Burundians who were told to go back to Dzaleka Refugee Camp have returned to the area and some of them did not relocate to the camp even though government had ordered them to.

Hamazi also highlighted issues such as conducting multiple businesses with one license and illegal brewing of strong alcoholic beverages that were not vetted by the Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) thereby putting the lives of the youth in the area at risk.

The demonstrators had, in their petition, issued an eight-day ultimatum for the Council officials to vacate the foreigners from the trading centre failing which they would carry out an unspecified action.

Receiving the petition, the DC asked the gathering to hold patience as procedures to have their request submitted to the relevant authorities for action would take time and the eight-day ultimatum would not be practical.

He, however, assured them that law enforcement officials from the Council would visit the trading centre to verify the allegations and execute an action.

“We are hoping that what the DC has told us that a team of police officers will inspect the area and verify our concerns will come to pass,” explained Hamazi in an interview after delivering the petition.