Kidnappings and human trafficking cast a shadow over SA’s security

As South Africa grapples with a surge in kidnappings, concerns mount over the nation’s security landscape.

Major General Tommy Mthombeni, the Gauteng police commissioner, issued a stark warning during the release of the province’s third-quarter crime statistics for the 2023/2024 financial year in Kempton Park in early March, highlighting a sharp rise in kidnappings.

The province alone recorded 2 367 kidnappings between October and December 2023, contributing significantly to the national figure of 4 577 reported cases during the same period.

These kidnappings are primarily driven by motives such as ransom, human trafficking and extortion, as highlighted in the national crime statistics report.

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The head of Hawks, Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, echoed concerns about the prevalence of human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants, characterising them as twin pandemics plaguing South Africa.

Human trafficking

Bedfordview and Edenvale News reported in October 2023 that a raid in Edenvale led to law enforcement discovering 20 Ethiopian nationals locked inside a single room at a Twelfth Avenue property.

Similar incidents of victims found in cramped conditions were reported in Sunnyridge and Benoni.

A raid on a house in Sunnyridge on September 2023 saw the discovery of more than 100 men locked inside a house on School Avenue.

This was after the discovery of 26 Ethiopian men locked inside a house in Benoni on August 23.

Four months later, detectives from KwaZulu-Natal rescued another 33 suspected human trafficking victims from a room in Mackenzie Park in Benoni on December 3 when the men were also found cramped into a single room.

The clandestine nature of this crime makes it difficult to detect and combat with victims often subjected to coercion, violence and psychological manipulation to maintain control over them.

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Traffickers operate in sophisticated networks that span national borders, making it challenging for law enforcement agencies to dismantle these criminal enterprises and bring perpetrators to justice.

Criminologist and human trafficking investigator Laurie Pieters-James told the NEWS in December 2023 that human trafficking is estimated to be a $150b (about R2 766b) global industry.

“Children account for one-third of all detected trafficking victims. Many are used for forced labour, but the majority are for sexual exploitation.

“In sub-Saharan Africa, 99% of detected victims originate from the area. Most of these cases come from sub-Saharan Africa or Asia,” said Pieters-James.

According to the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report from the US Department of State, the South African government does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but was making significant efforts to do so.

To combat human trafficking local authorities have hosted awareness campaigns and educational initiatives to empower individuals and communities to recognise the signs of trafficking and report suspicious activities to the authorities.

Captain Lefa Lebitso from the Hawks told Bedfordview residents at a human trafficking awareness event in October 2022 that traffickers often use violence or fraudulent employment agencies and fake promises of education and job opportunities to trick and coerce their victims.

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Sex trafficking

In December 2020 the NEWS reported that a call for assistance at a Bedfordview property led to the discovery of two missing women.

In total, officials found four highly intoxicated women of which two indicated to investigators that they were held on the property against their will.

The two were allegedly kidnapped from Elsburg two weeks before they were found in Bedfordview.

Officers also recovered “date rape drugs”, narcotics, government computer equipment and a firearm along with ammunition at the time

Khanyisile Motsa, founder of Home of Hope for Girls, has been advocating for and rehabilitating child survivors of trafficking and abuse for over 20 years.

The home offers a safe residence to children and teens who have survived abusive situations, predominantly linked to child sex trafficking.

They have two homes in the suburbs of Johannesburg, in addition to an outreach centre in the Hillbrow and Berea areas.

The home also works to reunite trafficked children with responsible family members.