Two trafficked children, aged 9 and 15, to be repatriated to South Africa

Two girls who were identified as victims of human trafficking are expected to be repatriated to South Africa on Thursday, with Social Development Minister Dina Pule due to receive them at OR Tambo International Airport.

Who is involved and where they will arrive

The children, aged 9 and 15, were trafficked across South Africa’s border into Malawi and have since been identified as victims of human trafficking. The Department of Social Development (DSD) will oversee their return, and Minister Dina Pule will be present at OR Tambo to receive them. She will be accompanied by senior government officials and relevant stakeholders who will oversee arrangements for their safe return, care and access to support services.

Repatriation process and partnerships

The DSD said the girls’ return forms part of South Africa’s repatriation process to ensure the safe return of children subjected to trafficking and exploitation. The department has repatriated 22 children to date.

As custodian of the Children’s Act, the DSD works with several government departments, entities and civil society organisations in these efforts. Those named include the Departments of International Relations and Cooperation, Home Affairs, the South African Police Service, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, and the Border Management Authority, alongside civil society organisations.

Related prosecutions and police advisory

In a separate case in KwaZulu-Natal, a Durban man and woman were convicted of human trafficking and related offences after luring an adult woman to KwaZulu-Natal, where she was raped, held against her will and forced into prostitution. The pair were convicted in the Pinetown Regional Court of multiple charges, including trafficking in persons, kidnapping, keeping a brothel, procuring a woman for prostitution and living on the earnings of prostitution. Additional convictions included rape and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority, the offences in that case occurred between 2 and 6 September 2022. NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the complainant had been lured to KwaZulu-Natal, raped twice by one accused and subsequently forced into prostitution.

What the police say about trafficking

An advisory on the South African Police Service website describes trafficking in persons as a global crime trend in which children, women and men are taken from their own countries or areas to a destination by force, pressure or trickery to be exploited. The SAPS noted that victims can be children or adults, males or females, and listed forms of exploitation that include sex trafficking, trafficking for non-commercial sex purposes, illegal adoptions, forced labour and child labour, organ trafficking, forced begging and coerced participation in criminal activities.

This article is based on a reporting brief by IOL.