Mpumalanga police have dismissed speculations of human trafficking in the two cases of missing teenagers in the province. Police are still struggling to locate the teenagers’ whereabouts; however, they were quick to mention that there is currently no information suggesting that the teenagers may have been victims of human trafficking. Nelisiwe Hope Makama (13) from Schoemansdal in Nkomazi municipality and Baratang Sarah Makinta (14) from Marapyane in Dr JS Moroka disappeared on 20 January 2024 and 2 March 2024, respectively. Nelisiwe, who is staying with her father, reportedly went to visit her mother but neither arrived at her mother’s place nor returned to her father’s. Baratang reportedly left home and never returned after she was seen walking alone towards the main road on that fateful Saturday during the day. Police have since requested the public to help reunite the pair with their respective families. Mpumalanga police spokesperson Colonel Donald Mdhluli told Highveld Chronicle it would be too early to blame human trafficking before investigations are concluded on the two cases. “We cannot run ahead of the investigations and start concluding that this is part of human trafficking or kidnapping,” he said. “The duties of the police when someone is reported missing are to make sure that person is being looked for, and that involves engaging members of the public to assist if that may help in finding the person’s whereabouts.” He added that the police have dealt with such cases where some reported missing and were later found. “Some have left without informing their family members.” A report filed by the national TV broadcaster a month ago showed two human trafficking victims aged 24 and 13 were reunited with their families in Nkomazi after two weeks of being reported missing. The victims, a male and a young girl, were allegedly kidnapped by a female Mozambican and taken to Mozambique. The woman was seen in the CCTV footage boarding a taxi to Maputo with the pair. On 28 February 2024, two South Africans were arrested and charged with contravention of trafficking in persons act 7 of 2013 and contravention of section 49(1)(a) of the immigration act 13 of 2002. They were arrested after seventeen (17) young Ethiopian males were found squeezed inside their vehicle that was stopped by police along the N11 from Groblersdal in Limpopo towards Middelburg
