5 Zimbabwean Men Arrested in Botswana for Child Trafficking
In what is becoming a major concern, five Zimbabwean men have been arrested in Botswana for child trafficking. The arrests took place after police intercepted five separate vehicles, each carrying undocumented children believed to be from Zimbabwe and on their way to South Africa.
The five men, whose identities had not been revealed at the time of writing, face charges of human trafficking.
The exact number of children involved has not been revealed, but authorities have confirmed that they are safe and currently under the care of a social protection unit in Francistown, Botswana.
Also read: Rimbi Bus Conductor Arrested for Trafficking a 16-year-old Girl to South Africa
Disturbing Details of the Incident
In an interview with Channel Africa, Superintendent Oteng Nganga, the Station Commander at Matsiloje Police Station in Gaborone, shared a particularly disturbing incident. Nganga described how the children, including a four-year-old girl, were crammed into a poorly ventilated, dark vehicle.
“It was a traumatizing experience, as the children including a four-year-old girl were stuffed in a not so ventilated vehicle,” Superintendent Oteng Nganga said.
Recent Incidents of Child Trafficking by Zimbabweans
This isn’t the first incident of child trafficking involving Zimbabweans. Last December, the South African Border Management Agency intercepted buses carrying more than 400 young children from Zimbabwe without parents or legal guardians as part of an anti-trafficking operation. While officials labelled these cases as trafficking, some organizations representing foreign nationals in South Africa argued that the children might have been travelling to visit their parents working in South Africa for the holidays. The buses were eventually sent back to Zimbabwe.
In the same month, two more Zimbabweans were arrested for allegedly trafficking 14 undocumented children found on a bus.
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