The Minister for Foreign Affairs, East Africa, Regional and International Cooperation, Dr Augustine Mahiga, told The Guardian yesterday that it has been established all eight detainees are employed by a Songea-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) which advocates for a complete halt in the extraction and use of uranium.
“So far we have established that they went to Malawi to seek more information about uranium mining activities and their effects over there,” minister Mahiga said, adding that this explanation has already been communicated to the Malawian government.
He added: “We believe they (Malawian authorities) understood us but maybe they are just doing their job to verify what we told them. Which they have a right to do because we don’t know if (the Tanzanians) entered their country with proper documents.”
According to Mahiga, the Tanzanian ambassador in the Malawian capital Lilongwe requested to see the detained individuals in prison and was granted permission, but has yet to give an official feedback on their conditions.He said the NGO that employs the detainees is from Germany and sponsored the visit to Malawi.
The parliamentary Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence committee is currently in Mbeya region and expects to get the ambassador’s briefing before the end of their tour, Mahiga said. It is then that he will be in a position to divulge fresh details on the matter, he added.
The eight Tanzanians were arrested in December last year in the Malawian-side border district of Karonga after they reportedly tried to enter a uranium mine in the neighbouring country.
Malawian media reports suggested that the eight were spies sent by the Tanzanian government to investigate if the country "is developing nuclear weapons from uranium at Kayerekera mine site in Karonga District".
Anonymous security sources were quoted saying some of those arrested had "suspicious" devices, including a "heavy camera".
Malawian police were quoted as saying the arrested Tanzanians did not give satisfying answers when asked what they were doing at the mine.
They said the eight would appear in court soon to answer charges of criminal trespass, but added that the charge may be changed according to evidence obtained during the investigation.
They were transferred from Karonga police custody to Mzuzu prison.
The government announced that it would investigate the matter.
It is understood that this is the second time Tanzanian nationals have been arrested for trying to visit the same mine in Malawi.
According to Malawian media reports, a group of university students from Tanzania under the Moravian Church were also recently blocked from visiting the mine site, which is currently closed.
The reports also suggested that "the Tanzanian government is frustrated with Malawi's position of being unshaken with the issue of the Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa) border dispute between the two neighbouring countries."
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