Child human trafficking is a horrifying reality that continues to plague various countries, including Zimbabwe and South Africa. The recent case involving two Zimbabwean citizens arrested with 14 undocumented minors highlights the appalling conditions these children are subjected to, including malnourishment and lack of basic necessities. Community involvement played a pivotal role in their welltimed intervention and rescue. These incidents underscore the urgent need to bolster legal, institutional, and community responses to this matter and serve as a call to courage for everyone to take action in protecting vulnerable children.
South Africa’s Border Management Authority (BMA) guards have successfully stopped a child trafficking attempt at the Beitbridge border post. The guards, working with the police and anticorruption unit, discovered 443 young children traveling unaccompanied in a convoy of buses from Zimbabwe. All children were rescued and handed over to Zimbabwean officials for safe repatriation. As the holiday season approaches with an anticipated surge in border crossings, the BMA is preparing to deploy 380 extra personnel at the busiest entry ports.