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Mkhululi Ncube, Chronicle Reporter

THE parents of 14 Zimbabwean children from Tsholotsho, who were detained in Botswana for 48 days after being intercepted on their way to South Africa without proper travel documents, have expressed regret over the incident.

The children, who missed three weeks of school during their ordeal, were reunited with their families last Friday. The parents have stressed the importance of obtaining necessary documentation for international travel, stating that they have learnt a valuable lesson from this experience.

Mr Milikani Moyo, originally from Sasedza Village but now based in South Africa, said he had almost given up hope of ever seeing his child again. His child is a Form One learner at Tshithatshawa Secondary School.

“I was overjoyed when my wife sent pictures of my child after the children were handed over to them. I was even beginning to doubt if they were alive because they did not want us to see them when we went there. I will never take another chance again; I will try and put money together so that I get my child a passport,” he said.

Ms Simelinkosi Mathe, whose child is in Grade One at Sasedza Primary School, said it was hard to function well not knowing what was happening with her child. She said despite financial challenges, she will work hard to raise money for a passport as she does not want to undergo the same stress of staying more than a month not knowing what is happening with her child.

Zimbabwe Children held in Botswana

Mrs Nomalungelo Ndlovu from Msigwana Village said it was hard for her to imagine how her six-year-old child was coping without her. “It is a risk that we had taken, but it backfired hard on me. My child is only six years old, and I do not know how he survived without me all this time. We now have to work hard with their teachers to assist the children to catch up with others,” she said.

Mr Cute Ncube had two children in Botswana, a 14-year-old in Form One at Mavela Secondary School and a ten-year-old in Grade Four at Mahole Primary School.
“I shed tears of joy when I saw them because it has been hard. They are all in good health, and we thank the Botswana officials for taking good care of them. We have no complaints about their welfare while they were in their hands,” said Mr Ncube.

Councillor Esau Siwela said they will educate their community about the dangers of making children travel without relevant documents. “Our people must learn that passports were created to enable them to travel outside the country. Such acts have the potential of creating rifts and friction within countries and must be discontinued. We appreciate the Chronicle for publishing the story because soon after it got the attention it needed, and here we are, the children are out,” he said.

However, Matabeleland South Provincial Social Welfare Department Officer, Mr Criswell Nyakudya, said by law the parents of the children should have been arrested for facilitating their trafficking.

“It is illegal to go outside the country without proper documents and to let children travel without any adult accompanying them. “The parents and the omalayitsha who do that must be arrested for breaching the Children’s Act. Before their departure from Botswana, the director of social welfare in that country should have communicated with our director to alert us of the move.

“The children should have been placed at the immigration centre so that proper profiling and investigations are done. “We could not turn them back when they were already in the country, but the law of dealing with the matter was not followed,” he said.