Woman accused of human trafficking in North West detained by police

A woman accused of abducting two young Congolese women and subjecting them to forced labour was detained by police this week.

Esther Mwanza (41) appeared briefly before the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court on Friday after her arrest by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit.

Police spokesperson Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso said that on 20 January 2023, two females aged 20 and 31 were discovered at the Mwanza’s residence in the North West. They claimed to have been trafficked from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to South Africa, where they allegedly endured forced labour.

ALSO READ: Kidnapped Cape Town lawyer rescued after manhunt

Following their rescue, the victims were relocated to a safe location by the Department of Social Development.

The case has been adjourned until 9 June 2023, when a formal bail application is expected to take place.

Vulnerable individuals

The arrest and subsequent appearance of Mwanza shed light on the ongoing issue of human trafficking, particularly the exploitation of vulnerable individuals who are brought into the country under false pretences.

In a separate incident, a 53-year-old Mozambican national appeared in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court last week, facing charges of contravening the Trafficking in Persons Act 7 of 2013, as confirmed by the police.

The arrest took place after the accused allegedly enticed a 15-year-old girl from Mozambique with the promise of employment at his spaza shop in Alexandra. According to police spokesperson Colonel Philani Nkwalase, the victim and her family were informed that the suspect’s wife, who was partially blind, needed assistance in managing the business.

ALSO READ: Man nabbed for trafficking 15-year-old Mozambican girl to SA as ‘sex slave’

However, upon arriving in Johannesburg, the young girl discovered that the spaza shop did not exist. Instead, the suspect subjected her to threats and forced sexual encounters between January and March 2023.

KZN teen kept in shipping container

In another recent incident that is suspected to be a case of human trafficking, a teenager successfully escaped from a shipping container in KwaZulu-Natal after being allegedly kidnapped while waiting for his school transport pick-up.

According to Colonel Robert Netshiunda, the spokesperson for the KZN Saps, Wentworth police are currently investigating the incident as a case of kidnapping. The incident took place on 16 May 2023 when three unknown suspects forcefully pulled and covered a 16-year-old victim into a vehicle on Basil February Road at the racecourse.

It is reported that the victim, who was waiting for his school transport, was abducted during this time. He was then kept confined inside a shipping container for an entire day before managing to escape.