Mozambican national Moises Armando Mate (32), who smuggled 14 young girls into South Africa, was thrown a lifeline by the Komatipoort Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

The court handed down a sentence of six months imprisonment or a R6 000 fine, wholly suspended for three years. The suspension is on condition that Mate does not commit a similar offence or is found to be unlawfully assisting any person or persons to enter, remain in or leave South Africa during the three years.

Mate was arrested near Komatipoort on December 6 shortly after he had smuggled 14 underaged Mozambican girls, aged between four and 16, into the country in a minibus.

According to the Mpumalanga Hawks’ spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi, the discovery was made when some members of the Border Management Authority stopped the fully loaded taxi on the N4 next to a filling station. Mate and the victims were handed over to the Komatipoort SAPS and a case of aiding and abetting was registered.

While it remains unclear how the young girls had crossed the border, the Department of Social Development performed the necessary assessments before sending them back to their home country.

The case was transferred to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) for further investigation. Mate made a few court appearances before he eventually pleaded guilty as charged and was sentenced within 21 days of his arrest.

While human smuggling undermines South Africa’s laws and the victims’ dignity, it should not be confused with human trafficking. The key difference is the element of choice. Human trafficking involves the exploitation of human beings for the purposes of forced labour or commercial sexual exploitation. Human smuggling, on the other hand, revolves around the provision of a service, such as transportation or fraudulent documents to an individual who chooses to gain illegal entry into a foreign country.