Tanzanian President pardons imprisoned illegal Ethiopian migrants

Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Monday ordered the release of 1,789 Ethiopians imprisoned for entering the country illegally.

According to diplomatic sources, Mr Magufuli’s pardon came after his meeting earlier on Monday with his Ethiopian counterpart Sahle-Work Zewde, who is on an official tour of Tanzania.

“Ethiopians can go home today if they want to,” he said, adding there were no conditions for the release of the foreigners who lacked proper travel documents.

Hundreds of Ethiopian migrants take dangerous routes across several African countries every year in their dream to reach South Africa for greener pastures.

Last year, hundreds of them were flown back home from Tanzania with the support by the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa (the EU-IOM Joint Initiative).

The initiative, backed by the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa has been set up in close cooperation with 26 African countries.

According to the United Nations, the programme that brought the illegal Ethiopian migrants home was part of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative, which facilitates orderly, safe, regular and responsible management by migrants.

This is through development of rights-based and development-focused policies and processes on protection and sustainable reintegration.

Olajumoke Adeleke