Malawi: High Court halts immediate deportation of 67 illegal Indian workers

The High Court in Lilongwe has halted the immediate deportation of 67 Indian workers at Salima Sugar company whom the government said had no work permit, according to a news report by Nayasa Times.

Judge Kenyatta Nyirenda granted the stay for judicial review on their case. This means the court will hear the whole case before making its determination on whether they should be deported or not.

The ruling comes after the chief resident magistrate Violet Chipao granted the 67 Indian workers bail after spending a week in police custody.

The workers were arrested just a day after Minister of Homeland Security Richard ChimwendoBanda made a visit to their workplace and demanded work permits from each of the workers.

Earlier, Lilongwe court had granted bail the Indian Salima Sugar Company, illegal workers, just hours after arresting other illegal foreign workers in the country.

Lilongwe resident magistrate Shyreen Chirwa ordered the 67 Indian nationals to pay K100, 000 each as bail bond and K500,000 noncash surety bond.

Salima Sugar Company spokesperson Maganizo Mazeze said the company, which has 60 percent shares by an Indian firm and 40 percent by the government, will comply with the order.

Meanwhile, diplomatic dialogue between Lilongwe and Delhi is continuing in Lilongwe on the matter behind the scenes.

The foreign workers were arrested by Immigration authorities on allegations that they did not have working permits.