Police Chief wants "permanent solution" to Zim illegals

Speaking in an interview with The Monitor, Bareki said routine raids and deportations were having no effect and his officers are overstretched by the huge numbers of Zimbabwean illegals that they capture every day.

His police station is overwhelmed and its holding cells overcrowded by illegal immigrants, mainly Zimbabweans, 15 to 20 of whom are netted on a daily basis, he noted. Bareki said the cells were so overrun that the toilets are repeatedly blocked, posing a serious health hazard to everyone there. "Our streets are also overrun by these illegals pestering people for piece jobs," he said.  But the "permanent solution" sought by Superintendent is unlikely to be found soon because the Director of the Department of Immigration, Mabuse Pule, says there can never be one. Though he agreed that the endless influx of illegal immigrants is a strain on Botswana's resources, Mabuse told The Monitor that his office will continue with the current arrangement of deporting border jumpers "time and time again".