27 Bodies Found Dumped by Roadside

The Zambian Police have discovered the bodies of 27 people on the roadside in Ngwerere area. Ngwerere lies 20 kilometres north of Lusaka.

Police spokesperson, Danny Mwale, told the BBC they were likely to have suffocated to death whilst in transit. 

Owing to its geographical proximity, Zambia is a common place to pass through for migrants hoping to reach South Africa. Families travel from the Horn of Africa move south in the hope of joining the approximate population of 4 million seeking a prosperous future in South Africa.

The police confirmed the bodies were found by residents of Ngwerere on Sunday (December 11) at 06:00 CAT.

Based on documents found alongside the bodies, the migrants are believed to be Ethiopian nationals. Unfortunately, this is not the first instance of such a tragedy. In October 25 bodies of Ethiopian migrants were found in neighbouring Malawi. 

At present, no arrests have been made. It is expected that those responsible fled the scene immediately after dumping the bodies. The stepson of Malawi’s ex-president Peter Mutharika has been arrested over the bodies discovered in Malawi but it is notoriously challenging to prosecute in these cases without the discovery of the vehicle in question.