16 Jun 2019

 Efforts are underway to establish a police specialised unit dealing with human trafficking issues, says Detective Superintendent Selebatso Mokgosi of Botswana Police Service.

He said the aim was to ensure that all police stations across the country had trained personnel.

Detective Superintendent Mokgosi was appraising about interventions geared towards protection of victims as well as fast-tracking of investigations.

He said human trafficking was a serious concern, but not all officers were trained to investigate such incidents.

He pointed out that training of police officers was on going to ensure each station had a qualified officer to deal with issues of human trafficking.

“We need officers who could understand and manage information, work timely and be able to separate victims from suspects to avoid re-victimisation,’ he added.

He said there were 16 cases of human trafficking registered before the courts and that one case was conducted in 2017 resulting in a suspended sentence for the trafficker.

Detective Superintendent Mokgosi said lack of secure shelter with adequate resources was a challenge, adding that they had a small shelter where they kept all the victims, but it was not conducive.

At times, he said they were challenged to provide feeding to the victims because there was no budget.

Detective Superintendent Mokgosi also stated that there were 31 victims of human trafficking and government was providing assistance in the form of psychological counselling, access to health facilities and education.

He also stated that stories told by victims were unforgettable experience and called on all to play a role in reporting suspected incidents of human trafficking.

He said it was essential to continue with a holistic approach by all sectors to effectively combat the crime targeting vulnerable people.

Detective Superintendent Mokgosi said SADC region had a unit of which Botswana Police Service had contributed a lot.

The police chief said public security was a serious concern among the SADC member states and they enjoyed a combine training to harmonize their efforts.

For his part, chief prosecution counsel from Directorate of Public Prosecution, Mr Farayi Mahwite, stressed the need to have specialised personnel noting that they wanted investigations on human trafficking to be perfect.

He also stated that the community had a duty to report any person involved in human trafficking.

Mr Mahwite called all to alert law enforcement officers if there was any suspicious incidents because human trafficking was real.

He pointed that a trafficker was liable to a fine not exceeding P500 000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 25 years or both. 

Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security deputy manager, Mr Madoda Nasha, said there was need to take issues of human trafficking seriously and ensure justice prevails.

He advised the public to familiarise themselves with all the acts in place and join hands with government to combat human trafficking. 

He said they should understand the acts, make informed decisions and not to be trapped into human trafficking issues.

Mr Nasha also appreciated that some people were seeing some gaps in some acts and giving them feedback. ENDS