MANKWENG – A MAN from Ethiopia, who is at the centre of a human trafficking scandal, is expected to appear before the Mankweng magistrate’s court on Thursday.
Teketel Swifarao (27) allegedly kept 19 illegal foreign nationals prisoner in a storeroom at a shop in Mentz village outside Turfloop in the Mankweng area.
Swifarao made his first court appearance early last week but his case was postponed for a formal bail application and for the state to get an Ahmaric interpreter.
The illegal immigrants were rescued by the police who acted on a tip-off. The police said they went to the shop’s storeroom and found the foreigners who were locked inside.
Provincial police spokesperson, Lt Col Malesela Ledwaba, said the investigation was still ongoing. “We are trying to find out how long these people were kept in the storeroom. We have already ascertained that they were in the country illegally,” Ledwaba said.
The incident sparked fear among local residents, who said they feared for their children’s safety as they could be abducted and held prisoner in the same way as the 19 foreigners.
