DURBAN - An 18-year-old girl, who escaped after allegedly being kidnapped and held by human traffickers, has been praised for her bravery.
While her parents were frantic with worry, even fearing that she had been murdered, their daughter, who finished matric last year, was being held with five other abducted girls.
According to sources they were all destined to be taken to people in Maputo, Mozambique, who had bought them.
But the quick thinking of the unnamed Vryheid girl helped police swoop on two Ethiopian kidnappers and arrest them.
Social Development MEC Weziwe Thusi commended police for their swift action in nabbing the kidnappers, who are due to appear in court soon.
Thusi’s office said that the teenager was abducted near her home in Bhekuzulu township last Tuesday.
“She was snatched on her way home from running an errand for her mother. She alleges that she was taken to Nquthu, where she was held with five other girls. During her ordeal the girl says her abductors tried to sell her.”
Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said the Vryheid teenager was kept in a house with the other girls “waiting to be deported after payment was made”.
But the Vryheid teenager managed to get the better of her kidnappers and escaped in the early hours of Friday, walking back to her home, about an hour away.
She told her relieved mother what had happened and the police immediately stepped in, arresting the two suspects, aged 20 and 27. A case of human trafficking has been opened and the investigation has been handed over to the Hawks.
Thusi said that the police’s prompt action “gives hope to victims of all forms of abuse that their suffering will never go unpunished.
“We must congratulate the girl for her bravery. Her quick thinking under very difficult circumstances saved not only her life, but also the lives of the other girls,” she said, issuing a warning to girls to be vigilant “because they are clearly under siege”.
They must avoid going anywhere alone in the evenings, she warned.
“As a department, we will assess the girl’s safety and take the necessary steps based on the outcome of our assessment. We will also provide psychosocial support to the victim and her family, working together with the SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority.”
The teenager is still deeply affected by her ordeal, her father said last night.
“She is starting to realise that she wasn’t at fault and we are not blaming her for what happened. It is something that could happen to anyone.
“We want her to be back to normal so she can properly help investigators with the case,” he said, adding that the incident had left him with many questions. “I sometimes get angry when I think of what happened. But I will leave things to the investigators now.”
The girl’s mother said that it had been a painful experience.
“There were times when we thought we had lost her forever and would have been satisfied with even finding her bones.
“If a child disappears for so long, these types of thoughts come into your mind and you start to entertain such possibilities,” she said.