Ethiopia to investigate 27 bodies discovered on the side of the road in Zambia

2 min read
13 December 2022 | 16:30 CAT

Ethiopia’s government says it will investigate the deaths of 27 of its citizens that were found dumped near Lusaka in Zambia.

Photo credit: Africa News

Zambian police said they found the bodies of the 27 men on Sunday in the outskirts of the Chongwe Ngwerere village. Authorities say they died from suspected hunger and exhaustion and are believed to be migrants from Ethiopia.

Ethiopia News Agency reports that its country would send experts to the area to confirm the identities of the deceased who reportedly died while attempting to cross into South Africa illegally.

Zambian police said preliminary investigations showed the deceased were all aged between 20 and 38, adding that their bodies had been dumped along a road by unknown people.

Officers found a 28th man “gasping for breath,” and took him to the hospital, however his condition is still unknown.

Condemning the incident, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said it was “profoundly shocked and alarmed” by the discovery.

Meanwhile, according to the Missing Migrants Project, more than 900 Ethiopians have died on migration routes since 2014.

Alternative Mining Indaba 2026

Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za 19 February 2026 1-minute read The Alternative Mining Indaba which concluded in Cape Town brought together an array of people under the theme: Alternative Stories of Mining, united in solidarity with the mining communities...

SANDF deployment to Cape Flats, parts of Gauteng sparks debate over long-term solutions

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 4-minute read 16 February 2026 President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to deploy the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to combat gang violence on the Cape Flats and in parts of Gauteng has been met with mixed reactions,...

ASRI Report: Key SONA 2026 Takeaways on Water, Crime and District Six

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 4-minute read 13 February 2026 President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) has placed renewed attention on some of South Africa’s most urgent crises — from water insecurity and violent crime, to the fragile...

SONA 2026: Calls for Action on Frontline Public Services

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 11 February 2026 As South Africa prepares for the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA), renewed calls are being made for the government to prioritise the rebuilding of frontline public services, which analysts...

ActionSA’s Proposal For Immigrants

Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za 17 February 2026 2-minute read On the revised ‘White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection’ published last year, Actions SA has proposed for only 10 thousand applications for asylum seekers to be considered...

What DA Premier Expects From SONA

Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za 12 February 2026 2-minute read With 345 murders in the Western Cape this January, DA Premier Allen Winde states that his expectations from SONA this year are levelled towards crime. The party has been calling for a long time...