Country
Modern slavery in South Africa
36 documented cases recorded in South Africa, 1984–2011. Locations are deliberately generalized to protect survivors.
Cape Town, South Africa, South Africa
Law enforcement raided a brothel in Cape Town which was being run by two Chinese women as part of a crime syndicate. The Captonian girl had responded to a job offer to be a masseuse, which had resulted in her working as a prostitute for the two traffickers. The other two Chinese victims had responded to a job offer just a few weeks before, where after they had been flown to Mozambique and driven over the South African border. The trafficker then took their passports away and told them that they were expected to repay a debt of R30 000. The girls were terrified, and had been told that if they talked to police or any men in uniform, the police would beat them and sell them to a black township where they would then be killed. One of the girls had her boyfriend in China deposit 30,000 into the bosses’ account hoping that by paying her debt the boss would let her go, but she still wouldn't let her leave. The other girl tried to send an SOS to the chinese consulate from a cell phone, but she got no response. The girls are totally uneducated and spoke no english.
Athlone, Cape Town, South Africa, South Africa
The victim ran away from the family that was keeping her. She got a train where a man said he would help her get back home. He then raped her. The train security found her and called the police.
Brooklyn, Cape Town. South Africa, South Africa
The victim was dropped off at the hospital by her perpetrator because she had experienced severe physical abuse from her trafficker. While she was receiving treatment for the physical abuse after receiving psychosocial support from the social worker at the hospital , it emerged that she was a victim of trafficking and that her perpetrator was still trying to make contact with her while she was in hospital.The victim had left her home in the Eastern Cape and ended up in Johannesburg, when she arrived her and her friend were approached by a Nigerian man who promised them employment in Cape Town. On arrival they were forced into sex exploitation in a brothel in the Northern Suburbs in Cape Town. Local NGOs assisted with both the practical support and aftercare support.
Cape Town, South Africa, South Africa
Female acquaintance sold her to 2 German male pimps. This female acquaintance told the victim that there was an opportunity to make quick money in Mossell Bay - a 6 hour ride from Cape Town. This acquaintance told the victim that she would work as a prostitute for the 2 German pimps, have her own apartment and be able to come and go as she pleased. The trafficker sold the victim to the German pimps for $65.00.
Northern Cape, South Africa, South Africa
Three girls did happen to escape from this situation, but 13 girls were left behind at the house. Because of the lack of legislation against labor trafficking, there was not much the police could do. The girls were also happy to stay in their situation with a hope for possible payment, even if it is less than what they were offered.
Belville, Cape Town South Africa, South Africa
The police were tipped off from a local who talked to one of the girls at the local McDonald's. They then went in to rescue the girls.
Cape Town, South Africa, South Africa
Trafficker was the boyfirned of the victim's mother. They all lived in Namibia. The boyfriend promised to talk the 12 year old to Cape Town and find her work. When they got there, he began prostituting her.
Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa
On May 15, 2010 the City of Cape Town's Vice Squad raided the house. All of the girls except for one were out of the house because of work. The girls were on study visas. No one was rescued and shortly after the raid the girls were moved to a different suburban naighborhood.
Sophiatown informal settlement in Thembisa, Ekurhuleni,, South Africa
The parents of this 13 year old girl sold her to a 24 year old. She was originally from Maputo, Mozambique. Apparently, he paid ilobolo for her. He would lock her up all day while he went to work. Here is what the article has to say: The girl told how her "husband" was very strict. "He locks me in the house all day. I am not allowed to go outside and speak to other people. If he sees me with someone else he beats me." "He promises to let me call my parents back home but never keeps his word," she said. He also prevented her from seeking help by bribing her with food, clothes and money. She said she wanted to go back home and return to school. She was in Grade 4 when she left.
Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa, South Africa
The boyfriend of the girl took her to Cape Town under the guise of a loving relationship. Soon after arriving he made her prostitute herself for money. Using drugs and intimidation he keeps her under his control.
Johannesburg, South Africa
Victim Alleges that she was held captive by a Nigeria Trafficking ring for over a year. Trafficker originally recruited four girls from Zimbabwe to work in a hotel. The youngest was 15 the oldest was 19. She claims when they reached the Zimbabwe/South Africa border, the girls were bought gifts and given drinks that were drugged. When they woke up they were in a back of a van and their trafficker told them they were in South Africa. They arrived at a flat in Johannesburg where they were sold to a Nigerian crime syndicate and forced into prostitution.
Port Elizabeth, South Africa, South Africa
Her parents had reported her missing, so the police recognized her when they picked her up on the street (initially thinking she was a prostitute). They attempted to identify the foreign nationals as well as the friend that helped them traffick the girl, but they did not have any luck finding them.
Umbillo Rd, Durban, South Africa
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article369559.ece A South African couple, Sayed and Chuchumporn, have been arrested after three Thai women fled their brothel on Umbilo Road in Durban. The women were recruited by Chuchumporn in Thailand and although they knew that they were being recruited to be prostitutes, the harsh treatment that they received at the brothel forced them to flee and seek the help of their embassy. The details of their story are unknown. Further investigation revealed that the couple was responsible for managing operations and activities at the said premises. The brothel was therefore identified as the central point for the unauthorized, illegal activities. There was an organized human trafficking structure where women were being sexually exploited.
Johannesburg CBD, South Africa
Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) chief David Tembe is willing to take action. When the journalists from Carte Blanche spoke to Tembe, he said, “As JMPD, we will work hand-in-hand to assist in bringing this to justice. Whatever investigation that you have done, please let us know so that I can contact crime intelligence from the SAPS and we'll work together to ensure that this comes to an end.” The Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities was also shocked by this investigation. Nolu Thando Mayende-Sibiya (Minister of Women, Children and People with Disabilities) commented: “We are going to ensure that there is a full investigation into the issues challenging the people here. I must say, we are concerned about what is happening. The problem is bigger than what it seems.”
Clarendon St, Cape Town, South Africa
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=15&art_id=vn20100422124204355C380047 The trafficker involved in this investigation is a woman who is suspected to be a part of a larger trafficking ring run out of a warehouse that she owns in Parow, Cape Town. Operating under the guise of an employment agency, they would target girls in rural areas in the Norther Cape (such as Prieska) and bring them to Cape Town under the promise of providing a better life and good jobs with good salaries. Instead the girls found themselves working in the woman’s house or in the shops of people that she knew. The girls were often accused of making a mistake with the till in the shop and would receive large cuts in their pay – some never saw a pay cheque at all. Those who were lucky enough to work in the woman’s house would receive the occasional portion of rice and meat, but usually they were only fed dry bread in the morning and baked beans for supper in the evenings. After being rescued one of the young women told the officers that she had had a miscarriage the week before, but had not received any medical attention. She said that when she had told the warehouse owner, she simply replied that t was “not her problem.” Although the woman who owned the warehouse claimed that the girls could leave at any time, the young women told police that they were locked into the property at night and that they were not allowed to leave the warehouse. They were held captive and not even allowed to approach the front of the warehouse, but were told they must remain at the back.
Ermelo, South Africa, South Africa
Nine Nigerian men were arrested for allegedly trafficking twelve women, between the ages of 18 and 30, from around the country to Ermelo and forcing them into prostitution. Home affairs officials confirmed that the suspects applied for asylum in South Africa, and according to the information in their application forms, they do not qualify for asylum. The women were given R30 a day for food, and from time to time they were forced to take drugs to ensure they remained addicts. The twelve women, between the ages of 18 and 30, told the police the men took all their earnings and the y were not paid for the jobs that they were doing.
Kempton Park, Johannesburg, South Africa
On Saturday, May 29th, Police were tipped off about a number of women between 23 and 27 years old, who were being sexually exploited in Kempton Park. The Hawks specialized crime-fighting unit raided the brothel. The women are suspected to have been trafficked, but further investigation is occurring.
Cape Town, South Africa, South Africa
The trafficker was the owner of a brothel in the city of Cape Town. Investigation revealed that a 17-year-old girl had been brought to the brothel to work from her home in Klerksdorp under false pretenses. She had been told that she would be working a job in Cape Town as a babysitter but when she arrived she found that she had been brought for very different reasons.
South Africa, South Africa
The Mozambican police say they have arrested seven people suspected of trafficking women to neighboring South Africa to work as prostitutes. Ms. Mahumane said the women were on sale for about $670 each. The police say the trafficking syndicate has 15 Mozambicans and several Chinese citizens. Two suspects said they were also trafficking Chinese women to South Africa.
Durban South Africa, South Africa
Sayed and Chuchumporn are due to be sentenced on May 10 and face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment or R100m fine, he said. The duo were arrested in 2007 after three Thai woman fled their brothel on Umbilo road and sought sanctuary at their embassy. The woman were recruited by Chuchumporn in Thailand. Recruited as prostitutes "It was clear from the moment they left Thailand it was for prostitution. There were no false pretences," said Mhaga. Though the women knew they were recruited to be prostitutes, the harsh treatment they received at the brothel forced them to flee. "It was also revealed that they were responsible for managing operations and activities at the said premises. The premises were therefore identified as the central operational point for the unauthorised and unlawful activities," said Mhaga. "There was therefore an existence of an organised human trafficking structure where females were being sexually exploited for a profit." Sayed and Chuchumporn are presently out on bail of R30 000 and R5 000, respectively. They were convicted on 19 counts. In addition to racketeering, they were convicted for contravention of the Sexual Offences Act and Immigration Act and money laundering. Police confiscated R19 700 and have shut down the Umbilo road brothel.
Mpumalnaga South Africa, South Africa
Nine Nigerian men were arrested for alleged human trafficking. The nine Nigerians had applied for asylum in South Africa although they did not qualify. The men took 12 woman with them all over the country and forced to them to prostitute themselves. The women were given drugs to keep them submissive and they were given R30 a day for food.
Cape Town, South Africa
Mark Kozhanow, of the House of Rasputin and the Cape Dance Academy, brought Tatiana Malachi into South Africa to work as an exotic dancer in March 2009. Upon her arrival in the Country, Mark Kozhanow informed Malachi that her passport would be held for 30 days so that they could register her with the police. He then kept her passport for the duration of her employment and said he would not return her passport unless she paid him $2000 for her air ticket and R20,000 as levy. Malachi was unable to pay this as she was not earning sufficient income but was instead was obliged to pay R2,700 per week to the club (House of Rasputin). Over the course of her three month 'employment' Malachi had accumulated R120,940 in debt (this also included a R37,000 charge for the agent who located her). Kozhanow has been quoted saying that he knows the recipe for keeping girls who want to leave because they can not pay their travel debts "Immigration Attorney," Says Kozhanow, "He keeps their passports." After one month of working at the club, Malachi approached her employers and voiced a concern over her mounting debt, she said she felt trapped and wanted to go home, but her the club was not interested and wouldn't return her passport. Malachi did not want to do more the strip dance to earn extra tips.
Eastern Cape, South Africa, South Africa
After a few months of not getting paid, the girl escaped and found her way to the department of Labour where she filed a report.
Maitland St Bloemfontein 9301 Freestate, South Africa
A woman in the Eastern Cape offered to find work for 17 year old Sindiswa and 15 year old Elizabeth. After driving them eight hours north to Bloemfontein, the recruiter sold them to a Nigerian drug and human-trafficking syndicate in exchange for $120 and crack cocaine. "[The recruiter] said we could find a job," Sindiswa recalled, "but as soon as we got here, she told us, 'No. You have to go into the streets and sell yourselves.' " The buyer, Jude, forced them into prostitution on the streets of central Bloemfontein for 12 straight hours every night.
Hillbrow, Johannesburg, South Africa, South Africa
The Article: FOR millions of football fans across the globe, next year's World Cup will be the time of their lives. But for Winnie Khumalo, it will bring only more pain to her miserable existence. Just 14, she is one of around 10,000 child prostitutes working in the shadow of Johannesburg's awesome, Soccer City stadium. Map ... Soccer City, South Africa Last night the final nations qualified for the tournament - with the hope of reaching the final at the amazing arena, which seats 95,000 fans and cost a staggering £120million. In stark contrast, punters pay Winnie £2.40 for sex with her. Shockingly, she has been a prostitute since she was 11, and now sleeps with up to 20 men a day. And she knows just what next year's influx of tens of thousands of World Cup tourists to the city will mean for her - and other poor young girls lured to the city with the hopes of finding a job and a better life. Speaking in her native Zulu through a translator, Winnie says: "Other girls from villages like mine think the World Cup will give them jobs as waitresses or cleaners. But they will be caught by men who promise them a nice life." Winnie, who is too scared of her brothel bosses to escape, adds: "I did not choose to do this. I wish I could get out but it's no use." Her ordeal began when she left her home in a township near Port Shepstone three years ago and travelled the 600 miles to Johannesburg in search of work as a housemaid. A brothel owner's henchman spotted her on the street, befriended her and lured her to a house, promising to take care of her. Winnie says: "On my third day in the city the guy I met showed me upstairs and said, 'This is your room'. Then he gave me alcohol and wanted to come to bed with me. Beer "I didn't know what was going on but when he was on top of me it hurt so much. Then he brought another man to my room and when I protested, he hit me. So I started drinking more beer." Promise of new life ... South Africa World Cup Our investigators find Winnie after entering the brothel in the dark streets of Hillbrow, an inner-city district so dangerous that even the police fear to patrol there. She is wearing a clingy silver dress that is meant to be sexy, but it is draped on the body of an adolescent. She says poignantly: "Men like me because I am young and do what they ask. When I began this work my chest was flat - my breasts have grown since then. "Now I'm getting a bit older they probably won't be so interested for much longer." Winnie's warning to other young girls was this week echoed by organisations in South Africa who believe the World Cup will put children in host cities such as Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town in danger of being sexually exploited. World Cup head of security Linda Mti says she is working with intelligence agencies to identify "unsavoury elements". The Department of Social Development has announced that a Child Protection Action Plan will be operational by March. All Winnie can hope is that these measures will prevent others falling into the same dismal life as hers. She shares her room with three other girls, taking turns to service men behind the bars of her door on a ten-cell corridor filled with the stale stench of crack cocaine. Her legs are scarred from rough sex and beatings and she operates with a knife under her pillow. She says: "I am less frightened these days, but when a man puts a gun to my head I want to scream. World class ... Joburg's Soccer City stadium "That happens quite often, especially when they want to do it without a condom. At times like that, I decide I will run away. It's like I have a flash of light or something. It makes me want to go back to school, I want to have a good life. But if I go out into the street, the boss follows me and brings me back. He has people everywhere. I'm scared to break his rules." To get through her daily ordeal, Winnie drinks, morning and night. She says: "They tried to make me do drugs but I always say no. My brain is the last power I'll give up. "I beg the police and the teachers in schools to tell girls what this place is really like." Statistics released by the South African Professional Society On The Abuse of Children indicate around 530 child rapes occur every day across the country, though fewer than 60 are reported to police. Officials believe children are the victims in 45 per cent of all rape cases nationwide. Advertisement Domestic crimes contribute to the alarming figures, but child prostitution is responsible for a large proportion. Many victims are trafficked and the vast majority become infected with HIV. For teenagers such as Winnie things can seem desperate yet there is a glimmer of hope - just a mile down the road, charity workers at the New Life Centre offer vulnerable sex workers a second chance. They visit the 100-odd brothels operating above bars in the rundown district, giving health advice and urging young girls to break free. Manager Khopotso Nakin says wealthy gang lords are grooming underage girls as upmarket hookers aimed at fans including the 25,000 England supporters set to descend on South Africa. She says: "They persuade beautiful young girls that the World Cup will mean new jobs and a bright future. They put several at a time into homes they have bought here in the city. "Victims come from Thailand, Eastern Europe and even China. They never see the light again. Many men who are offered their beautiful bodies will not realise how young they are. "They appear clean and willing, but actually they are locked in squalid rooms most of the time. "I hope very much that one day Winnie comes to us, but it is incredibly hard for someone like her to break the cycle and have the courage that she will escape unharmed." Pimp Another prostitute, 25-year-old Nolukhanyo Vasi, was infected with HIV as a teenager after her aunt sold her to a pimp at the age of 14. Unfair game ... Nolukhanyo Vasi MILLER & MACLEAN She now helps the desperate new arrivals at the New Life Centre come off drugs, get medical treatment and set about finding alternative work. But the charity can pay her just £48 a month. And with a £32 rent bill to pay and a young son to feed, she is forced to continue working the streets. She says: "Life is hard and when I have no money to eat, I force myself to do it again. It's never been as hard as the first time. "My aunt had brought me from my home village and I trusted her. She told me and my parents I could live at her house. But one day she took me to a bar in town. "She pulled a mini-skirt, high heels and a backless white top out of her bag and told me to put them on. "A guy came over to us and asked, 'How much?' I didn't understand what was going on. Then my aunt said to me, 'Look, if you want to have money here you must sleep with a man'. "They took me upstairs to a room with a bed in it. The man handed my aunt some coins and before she left she put a condom on him. She knew I had no idea about things like that. "It was very painful and I was crying, but the man told me to stop being selfish. "I never saw my aunt again. The manager was good to me for a while but when I grew up a bit he got tired of me. "If I refused to do what he said he would beat me with a leather whip." Nolukhanyo dreads telling her nine-year-old son she has no idea who his father is. She says: "How can I admit to him I was a prostitute? "He is free of HIV, thank God, but we both will carry that shame for ever. "I can no longer have a relationship with a man. I have never been treated as a woman, just a thing. "When you are mistreated at such a young age you just expect to be damaged by everyone. "If any young girl thinks coming to Johannesburg in 2010 will bring her happiness, she should think again." To donate to the New Life Centre, email newlifeforgirls@yahoo.com.
KwaCele, South Africa, South Africa
The girl was in bondage for three years before she escaped. She is now getting aftercare. No exact details were given about her escape. The Article: "I could not go back home, my grandmother told me never to come back. They sold the cows and got money," she added. Now 17, she escaped her tormented married life in July and found solace at Palmerton care centre, which has also become a home to 18 other teenage girls who escaped similar situations. They were rescued by welfare officials and police in a campaign to stem the practice, even though many communities see nothing wrong with it. Most of the girls say their abductions were pre-arranged with their parents and left them no say in the process. In many cases, girls are forced out of school and bear children, when they are barely out of puberty. "He raped me on our first night together. Every day he forced himself on me, in all the cases he overpowered me after a struggle," said Sinama, who now has a two-year-old boy by the man. "I love my child and I am going to raise him to be a good man." Captain Nomana Adonis from Mthontsasa police station, which leads a rescue campaign in villages around the area of Lusikisiki, said the abductions were a new phenomenon. "This is new. We believe there may be hundreds of other girls out there we did not reach," said Adonis. "We have encountered girls as young as 13 who were sold to old men, opening them to chances of contracting diseases like HIV." She said a number of "husbands" and parents had been arrested. "In most cases the husbands are charged with rape and abduction, but so far we have not secured a single conviction," said Adonis. Peter Mtuze, a retired academic and the former head of African Languages at Rhodes University, decried the unothordox revival of ukuthwalwa, saying it did not fit in the mordern world. "Children are literally being sold, almost to the highest bidder. This is paedophilia," said Mtuze. "In the old days men usually abducted women who were of marriage age, not minors. This is not culture," said Mtuze, adding that in the past, girls who were abducted were not raped. "The girl was kept safe until she accepted the love proposal from the man. Messengers were then sent to the parents of the girl to start lobola (dowry) talks," said Mtuze. He said the custom was practiced secretly by a number of tribes in African countries. Both the government of South Africa and the Human Rights Commission (HRC) have condemned the practice, saying it has no place in a modern society. "This custom is taking us backwards as a country. We are doing our best to stop it and protect the children," said Phearane Moreroa, head of HRC. Source-AFP TRI
Johannesburg, South Africa, South Africa
Social worker rescued girl, age ten. The article: Johannesburg - Lesotho-born Thato was brought to South Africa at age three, by a woman she knew simply as "granny". Five years later, her "granny" sold her into sexual slavery. The woman who bought her was running a sex ring that police are still investigating to find out how many children were involved. It's a scenario that South African authorities and child welfare campaigners are already working to prevent during the Soccerl World Cup next year, which authorities fear could draw in child traffickers hoping to cash in on the fanfare around the games. Thato, now 10, was rescued just three months ago by a social worker who brought her to Amazing Grace Children's Home, which houses 79 children outside Johannesburg. The home's founder Grace Mashaba, who explained Thato's story, said her parents probably had no idea that the "granny" would sell their daughter. "That 'granny' doesn't have children, so she keeps asking people, 'Can you give me your child so she can stay with me?' She has a good house, so people trust in her," Mashaba said. Thato at least was able to speak about her abuse. Another 10-year-old Lesotho girl rescued from the sex ring is too traumatised to talk, Mashaba said. An estimated 247 000 children in South Africa now work in exploitive labour, including prostitution, according to the Child Protection Action Plan for the World Cup, created by government's department of social development. Campaigners worry that the problem will grow with the influx of tourists next year, especially as South African schools will be closed during the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 11, meaning many children could be left unattended during the day. Families selling own children "Child trafficking is a big concern because of the big economic pull of the event," said Stephen Blight, the head of child protection in South Africa for the UN Children's Fund (Unicef). "All the fans and visitors spending money will create a whole network that criminal networks will want to benefit from." The government worries that child trafficking could increase as poor South Africans struggle for a slice of the $4bn the World Cup is expected to generate. Parliament is due to consider a trafficking law early next year, aiming to prevent children from getting recruited to beg or hawk souvenirs on the streets, or more worryingly forced into prostitution. Rebecca Pursell, a social worker for Kholisa Management Services, a child advocacy group, said the school holidays could add to the problem for children. "They will be loitering around without much activity, which places them at high risk not only of trafficking but of sexual exploitation," she said. In addition to cross-border trafficking from Zimbabwe, Mozambique or Lesotho, many poor South Africans will leave rural areas to look for work in the cities during the games, she said. Mariam Khokhar, of the UN's International Organisation for Migration, said prevention campaigns are already underway, including theatre programmes in rural areas to educate people about the danger of trafficking. "Criminal elements often tend to exploit such events, and there will be an increase in criminality which could possibly include trafficking," she told AFP. For Thato, she will live at the Amazing Grace home for now. Many of children stay at the home until they finish high school, Mashaba said. Most of them have been abandoned, orphaned or abused. Those who have been trafficked from other countries can be repatriated, but often choose to stay, Mashaba said. "Even their own families, they do sell those girls. It's the people that you know that traffic the children." - AFP
East London, South Africa
Vasile Oaches, 26, Gheorghe Mihali, 22, and Vasile Maris, 29, all from Meanley Road in Manor Park. A 19-year-old girl who was also arrested during the operation has been bailed to return to an East London police station in December, pending further police enquiries.
South Africa, South Africa
The trafficker approached a widowed woman with seven children and offered to take two of the children (a boy and a girl) to South Africa so that he could educate them and take care of their needs. The poor and burdened mother agreed and the children were smuggled to Mbuzini, where they were kept for a few weeks before they learnt that they were meant to be killed, for the harvesting of their body parts to be used for ritual purposes.
Johannesburg South Africa, South Africa
A 38-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman were arrested at a house in Rail street, Florida on Johannesburg's West Rand. It is alleged that the couple abducted a 19-year-old female who was brought into South Africa from Zimbabwe about a week ago under the pretext that she was going to be employed. The couple then demanded R1800 ransom money from the woman's brother.
Ressano Garcia Village, Ressano Garcia District, Maputo Province, South Africa
A man of 27/28 years attempted to smuggle 5 male genitalia across the Mozambique border, and was caught on the South African side.
Bloemspruit, South Africa, South Africa
http://www.ldh.org.mz/index.php/en/projects-and-research/trafficking-body-parts This interview was conducted in Bloemspruit with a woman who confirmed she was instructed by a “Sangoma” (Traditional Healer) to use children’s fingers and penises, which she wore as a belt under her clothes to solve a problem she had with a pregnancy. Previous to the visit to the Sangoma, she appeared to be pregnant and then suffered a miscarriage. However, she seemed not prepared to accept this and despite visits to hospitals and clinics who confirmed she was not actually pregnant, she instead visited a Sangoma who made a belt for her. From the belt hung two fingers and three penises from children. She was also instructed to drink a concoction she believed contained human blood and fat and she was given a piece of flesh which she believed to be a human organ, perhaps a heart. She sliced small pieces from the flesh each night and fried them on a stove. She followed these instructions for about one month and became ill, burnt the items prescribed by the Sangoma and went to hospital. Interviewer: Have you ever used the Traditional Healers? Informant: Yes Interviewer: Do you mind telling us about your visit to the Traditional Healer? Informant: I went to that Sangoma and he gave me Muti to drink, a mixture of herbs. And another Muti that I had to burn at night. Interviewer: Can you say what kind of Muti did you have to burn at night? Informant: That Muti looked like a person’s heart. You could see that it was like a heart from a person. Interviewer: So it was something for you to drink and then it was something for you to burn at night? Informant: That Muti to drink, it was three bottles. Those bottles when I was drinking that Muti, it looked like blood. I don’t know what to say, because when I was drinking I wanted to vomit. I wanted to vomit that Muti. I was starting to be scared. I thought I cannot drink this. Interviewer: And were you drinking it from a cup or out from the bottle. Informant: From a cup. Then the Traditional Healer, he gave me a belt with fingers and penises of children. It looked like a necklace with penises and fingers hanging. Interviewer: So, it was a finger and a penis, a finger and a penis and they were they all sewed to the belt? Informant: Yes. Interviewer: Were they dry or wet? Informant: Dry. Interviewer: Are you able to tell me how many fingers and how many penises were hanging from the belt? Informant: Two fingers and three penises. Interviewer: How could you say these fingers and penises were from children? Informant: They were very small, very small. Interviewer: Couldn’t it be from animals? Informant: No, they were human. I know human penises. Interviewer: Do you feel that everything that the Traditional Healer gave you has helped? Informant: No. Interviewer: Can you tell me if the Traditional Healer charged you any price? Informant: R4000 in cash (approximately US$ 400, ed.). Interviewer: Going back to the belt, can you describe it a bit more? Informant: It was a brown belt. On the front it had the penises and fingers hanged and on the back it had a pillow with needles. Interviewer: Did you ever take it out or were you wearing all the time? Informant: All the time. Always. Interviewer: How long were you using the belt and using this Muti? Informant: I used it only for one month. Interviewer: That time that the Traditional Healer gave you that Muti did you ask what was it? What was inside? Informant: No, I was so desperate. Interviewer: Can that be because you didn’t want to know? Informant: I was so sick, so sick…that if someone told me to go to the toilet and eat I would do it. Interviewer: Where do you think those fingers and penises came from? Informant: They kill the babies.
Belville, Cape Town, South Africa, South Africa
A neighbor witnessed the incident and when child was reported missing, led police to the trafficker's location. After denying it, woman admits she had taken the girl to be sold into a marriage. She led police to where the girl had been locked in a dark room for a day.
Johannesburg, South Africa, South Africa
Police intervened."This comes after a complainant opened a case of abduction earlier in the day. It is alleged that the couple abducted a 19-year-old female who was brought to South Africa from Zimbabwe about a week ago under the pretext that she was going to be employed," said Xaba. The couple then demanded R1800 ransom money from the woman's brother. "An arrangement was made with the suspects to meet at a nearby shopping centre where a ransom was to be paid," said Xaba. But the police pounced on the couple and arrested them.
After Dark Gentlemans' Club, South Africa
The Gauteng kingpin is said to have direct links to human trafficking syndicates in Thailand and usually receives new recruits from OR Tambo International Airport.The sources said that three kingpins - who were now in hiding - had been identified, two in KwaZulu-Natal and one in Gauteng, and warrants for their arrest had been issued. Unconfirmed reports state that the police, as part of their ongoing investigations, have uncovered a money trail between South African criminals and their Thai counterparts, running into millions of rands.
Vandeleur Street Cape Town, South Africa, South Africa
Julienne’s sister, Antoinette and her sister’s fiancé Joseph Davis.