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Woman jailed for smuggling child, 6, into SA, forcing him to do child labour

A 10-year jail term has been imposed on a Mpumalanga woman nabbed by the Hawks for human trafficking.
A 10-year jail term has been imposed on a Mpumalanga woman nabbed by the Hawks for human trafficking.
Image: 123rf/ Allan Swart

A six-year-old boy was smuggled from Mozambique into South Africa, where he was put to work without pay. The woman responsible will now serve a lengthy jail term.

Judith Nyantumba, 57, was convicted and sentenced to 10 years' direct imprisonment by the Carolina regional court on Thursday for trafficking in persons, the Hawks said on Friday.

Hawks Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said the specialised serious organised crime investigation unit was called in to investigate after receiving a report that Nyantumba had smuggled the boy over the border in May 2018.

She "exploited him to work for her without payment", Sekgotodi said, without elaborating on the nature of the tasks he was assigned.

The provincial head of the Directorate For Priority Crime Investigation, Maj-Gen Zodwa Mokoena, applauded the investigating team together with the prosecuting team for ensuring that the matter was finalised speedily. She urged the public to report such incidents where young children are exploited. 


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