The family of a teenage boy in Lefaragatlhe near Rustenburg is pleading for the safe return of Tshiamo Masikane who went missing on 01 January 2023.
Family spokesperson Thato Mabyane says 17-year-old Masikane left home to look for the phone that he lost on New Year’s Eve at a club when he went out with his friends.
Mabyane described Masikane as a respectful and loving boy who would never have an argument with anyone.
The family believes that the teenager who’s supposed to be in Grade 12 this year at Kitsong school in Phokeng has been kidnapped.
In 2019 a 7-year old girl Kgothatso Molefe was reported missing in the same area (Lefaragatlhe) and her burnt body was discovered by a passer-by in the bushes a month later.
It was reported that the girl went to school and never returned.
South Africa is seeing a spike in the number of missing persons yearly.
This is according to the National Coordinator and Criminologist at Missing Persons South Africa Bianca Aswegen who says the organisation deals with numerous cases daily and there are many other cases not reported which makes the actual statistics shocking.
“ In other instances, victims are reunited with their families, but unfortunately, we’re sitting with a high number of unresolved cases, or the victims are found deceased”.
Aswegen adds that SA has been declared a human trafficking hub by the US State Department which makes it necessary for the government and stakeholders to work together in the fight against kidnapping and human trafficking.
“So we need to have government, all other role players to stand together, we need government departments to collaborate, to bring the voices forward and to implement a system that will better combat this challenge,” she added.
North West police say statistically, one missing person per day is reported on average to police stations in the four districts of the province, with a total of 14 reported in the first two weeks of January 2023.
Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Adel Myburg says in some of the kidnapping incidents, suspected drug dealers were arrested in Rustenburg and Klerksdorp operating brothels and keeping women against their will for prostitution.
According to Myburg, this crime is committed mostly by foreigners, and victims of human trafficking in the province are also foreigners.
Myburg believes that tightening security at borders can help in the fight against this crime.
“Control at the port of entry should be closely monitored and media campaigns can be launched to inform and educate the community. Human Trafficking is caused by socio-economic factors and social fabric crimes such as unemployment. Substance abuse and drug abuse all require a multi-disciplinary approach by the government, businesses, and civil society.
“Programs and Plans such as the National Drug Master Plan, Gender Based Violence and Femicide Strategic Plan, Community Policing Strategy, etc, must be funded and implemented fully to address the root causes of Human Trafficking,” says Myburg.