Zambia government speaks on presence of Malawian solders along borders

The Government of Zambia has dismissed fears over the presence of Malawian soldiers along the Zambia-Malawi border line.

The fear comes after the statement issued and signed by Presidential Press Secretary and Spokesperson Mgeme Kalirani dated 27 March,  Peter Mutharika in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief ordered the army to guard all strategic exit points from the country.

The Malawi President ordered the soldiers to nab any vehicle found smuggling maize, tobacco or any prohibited commodities from Malawi.

Yesterday, Eastern Province Permanent Chanda Kasolo told a media briefing in his office in Chipata that the Malawian government had deployed soldiers along the border line to curb the smuggling of tobacco, maize and other unauthorised products.

“Malawian government is concerned that they have been smuggling of tobacco and other unauthorized goods and products into Zambia,”he said.

Mr Kasolo said the soldiers were deployed at all strategic points to ensure that no smuggling of any kind into Zambia and vice versa is allowed.

He said the people along the border should not be alarmed with the heavy presence of soldiers who were manning the strategic points which included Mwami border.

He said the Malawian soldiers were merely doing their job in cramping down the illegal smuggling.

Mr Kasolo appealed to people to be vigilante and report any suspicious people who were involved in smuggling to both the Zambian security wing and Malawi security forces.