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Although the South African government has demonstrated overall increasing efforts in combatting human trafficking, more still needs to be done, according to the 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report by the US Department of State.
According to the report, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in South Africa.
They recruit victims from neighbouring countries and South Africa’s rural areas and exploit them in sex trafficking in urban areas such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Bloemfontein.
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“Traffickers force both adults and children, particularly those from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities and rural areas as well as migrants, into begging, domestic service, mining, food services, construction, criminal activities, agriculture, and the fishing sector,” reads the report.
“Traffickers recruit both foreign and South African victims through fake job advertisements on social media and classified advertisement forums, including advertisements for webcam modelling, hospitality, mining, and domestic work. Some fake advertisements, particularly for domestic work, specifically request Zimbabwean or Malawian applicants.
“Syndicates, predominantly operated by Nigerians, force women from Nigeria and countries bordering South Africa into commercial sex, primarily in brothels and other commercial-front establishments.”
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In May, the Hawks arrested a South African and two Nigerian nationals Ifeanyi Michael Ugbobuaku, 39, Seeraj Wally, 43, and Matthew Adeongun, 38, on allegations of human trafficking.
Police rescued three men and one woman.
According to the report, even some zama zamas are victims of human trafficking.
“Boys from Eswatini and Lesotho are trafficked for forced labour in illegal mining,” it reads.
Traffickers also exploit Basotho women in sex trafficking and domestic servitude and men in labour trafficking, particularly in the mining and textile sectors in South Africa, reads the report.
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The exploitation is exacerbated by high unemployment and socioeconomic challenges in South Africa and other African countries.
“Traffickers recruit victims who are unemployed and struggle with substance use, and commonly use substances to maintain control of victims, including children.
“Despite high unemployment, migrants travel from East, Central, and Southern Africa to South Africa looking for economic opportunity, particularly from Ethiopia and Mozambique, and are vulnerable to exploitation.”
In January this year, the provincial head of the Hawks in Gauteng, Major-General Ebrahim Kadwa, raised an alarm over the rising cases of human trafficking in the province.
Kadwa said this was due to the province being an economic hub, among other factors.
He said the Hawks had intensified its response to information relating to human trafficking and smuggling of immigrants in the last three years and has managed to crack some big cases.
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