{UAH} OBSERVER" Canadian jailed for overstaying visa
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The state is struggling to find charges to prefer against a Canadian national alleged to have overstayed his welcome in the country for about 30 years.
According to the directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (DCIC) spokesperson, Jacob Siminyu, Abdul Aziz Viran, who claims to be a Ugandan citizen by birth, has failed to produce proof of citizenship.
"The [Canadian] embassy has not yet produced his passport, which will give us some evidence to know whether he has overstayed or entered the country illegally. We shall prefer charges against him after viewing his passport," Siminyu said last week.
Viran allegedly claimed he was married to a Ugandan woman with four children but Siminyu said he had failed to produce any substantive sureties to prove this.
"He failed to produce any documents that prove his citizenship. He is currently detained pending verification with the Canadian embassy of how he entered the country. He is also facing deportation if he fails to prove his citizenship," Siminyu said of Viran, who has stayed in Uganda since 1985.
Siminyu said that according to immigration laws, a suspect can be detained beyond 48 hours until details about him are got. He was being kept at Jinja road police station. According to Siminyu, Viran has been exporting fruits to Canada since he came to Uganda.
His luck ran out on September 13 when he was arrested at Galaxy Music Centre in Kampala in an operation where the immigration department also captured 72 suspected illegal immigrants. Those arrested included Indians, Nigerians, Sudanese, Pakistanis, a Belgian, a Greek, a Kenyan, Congolese and Somalis.
"Out of the 72 arrested suspects, 24 of them managed to bring their documents and were cleared to stay in the country while the rest are facing deportation since they have failed to bring their immigration documents," Siminyu said.
He said the suspects would be taken to court, and if court proves they are here illegally, they will pay fines of between $300, for those who have overstayed their visas by three days like Ashish Pandya (Indian), and $3,000, for the likes of Nazil Ahmad (Pakistani) who has overstayed for a month.
"After paying the necessary fines, immigration will ensure all the illegal immigrants are also deported," Siminyu said.
The operations are targeting only illegal immigrants in the country.
zurah@observer.ug
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