Twenty-seven teenage boys who recently resurfaced from an abandoned mine in Stilfontein, near Klerksdorp, were repatriated to their home country of Mozambique on Tuesday. The repatriation is carried by North West Department of Social Development social workers, after the teenagers were placed in a temporary safe care in Mahikeng for two weeks.Among the 27 undocumented children, 15 were found by the police in Matlosana and 12 others resurfaced from the abandoned mines. “The minors were involved in illegal mining activities at Stilfontein in Matlosana local municipality. Their placement in temporary safe care by the department, is in line with the provisions of Children Act which mandate social workers or police officials to remove a child who is in danger and place them in a temporary safe care.On Tuesday (17 December 2024) at 00:00, the Social Workers managing the case set out to repatriate the children to Lebombo border with a police escort,” read a statement from the department. According to the department, the repatriation after it obtained a court permission to release the teenagers from their place of safety, repatriate them and hand them over to their counterparts in Mozambique, who will then reunify the children with their parents. “This was made possible after the Mozambican Consulate issued them with temporary travel documents and allowed a care-to-care process between the Social Development Departments in the two countries. This was facilitated by the Department of Social Development and International Social Workers Services,” added the statement. The children will be handed over to Social Workers at the Lebombo border on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the provincial MEC for Social Development Basetsana Sussana Dantjie, applauded all the stakeholders who ensured that the process is completed. “We thank all the stakeholders who came forward and played a critical role in ensuring that these children receive the necessary care and protection. We also thank the Mozambican Consulate for speeding up the process of repatriation,” said Dantjie.In addition, the MEC said the department together with the stakeholders, are ready to provide similar services to other children who may resurface from the abandoned mines in Stilfontein.
