Chipinge man nabbed in cross-border child trafficking scandal
A 36-year-old Chipinge man has been arrested in a shocking child-trafficking case after allegedly smuggling a 15-year-old girl into South Africa, where she was reportedly being taken to meet a “husband” in Thohoyandou, Limpopo.
Solomona Khoza is accused of ferrying the minor earlier this month through an illegal crossing point near Tshikwalakwala along the Limpopo River.
The trip is said to have been organised by the teenager’s boyfriend, who allegedly intended to marry her.
Khoza now faces charges under the Trafficking in Persons Act for facilitating the cross-border movement of a child and under the Immigration Act for aiding illegal entry and departure.
He appeared before Beitbridge regional magistrate Charity Maphosa on Thursday and was remanded in custody to December 9.
State prosecutor Willbrought Muleya told the court that at around 2 AM on November 3, Khoza smuggled the girl into South Africa.
The plan collapsed when South African police intercepted them after they failed to produce travel documents while en route to Thohoyandou.
The pair were detained at Mutale Police Station before being deported to Zimbabwe on November 20.
Khoza was immediately arrested during routine vetting at the government-run Reception and Support Centre, while the teenager was referred to the Department of Social Development.
Investigations have since unearthed an even more disturbing pattern authorities say Khoza also trafficked two boys, aged nine and twelve, to South Africa.
Both minors have since been found and placed in a place of safety. *_-Afrogazette_*
