Zimbabwean children intercepted trying to cross border illegally, ministry says
HARARE — Zimbabwe’s immigration department intercepted 124 children who were trying to cross the border into South Africa illegally, the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare said on Monday.
The ministry said in a statement that the children, below the age of 17, were from Bulawayo Metropolitan Province and Matabeleland South province and did not have the required travel documents or an accompanying parent or guardian.
The children were handed over to the ministry and moved to a place of safety at Beitbridge Reception Centre, where they were awaiting relatives or family tracing. The ministry said it had reunified 101 children with their families and was working to reunify the remaining 23.
The ministry denied reports that 443 unaccompanied Zimbabwean children below the age of 8 years were intercepted in South Africa on fears of child trafficking and handed over to Zimbabwean authorities. South African officials said a total of 42 buses intended for South Africa were stopped and searched in a sting operation at the border post in Musina, Limpopo.
“Out of that, we found 443 children under the age of eight that were in those buses without any parent or guardian. Fairly, they were then trafficked into South Africa.
“We were able to take them out of those buses. We then engaged Zimbabwean officials and handed them over to Zimbabwe for processing back into the country,” Border Management Authority (BMA) Commissioner, Michael Masiapato, said while briefing the media on Sunday morning.
However, the July Moyo led ministry said it had not received any official communication or confirmation on the alleged children from the South African Border Management Authority or the Zimbabwean Department of Immigration.
The ministry said it was working with the Zimbabwe Republic Police and was conducting nationwide awareness raising programs to sensitise citizens on responsible parenting and safe migration.
The ministry is the lead agency in the care and protection of children in Zimbabwe and is mandated by the Children’s Act to identify unaccompanied and separated migrant children as children in need of care and protection.
