31 Mar 2019

Parliament has been informed that since enactment of the Anti-Human Trafficking Act of 2014, 21 cases had been detected and were all investigated.

Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Shaw Kgathi said one case had been completed, accused convicted and sentenced to a wholly suspended prison sentence.

The minister stated that 16 cases had been registered before the courts and were at various stages of prosecution.

Mr Kgathi explained that two cases were classified as domestic human trafficking, but were eventually closed due to insufficient evidence to prosecute.

“The ministry allows pre-existing written guiding procedures from the Department of Social Protection for handling persons in need of protection,” he said.

Specially elected MP, Mr Mephato Reatile had wanted to know if there had been any cases of human trafficking detected, investigated and prosecuted since the implementation of the Human Trafficking Act of 2014.  ENDS