​A 16-year-old Mozambican girl was trafficked to South Africa after responding to a friend request from a stranger on Facebook who promised to take care of her and her family since they were struggling.
Currently, she is placed in one of the Gauteng Department of Social Development’s places of safety. Maria*, not her real name to protect her identity, says the man lured her to his home and gave her muti to bathe and drink. According to Maria, the man is a sangoma because he was wearing beads and covering himself with red and white clothing material.

“He told me to relax and said everything was going to be okay, and that he wants to take me to South Africa, where he will make sure that I receive royal treatment. On the same day, he forced himself on me and said I should come back the following day,” says Maria.

“First thing in the morning, I bathed and could not wait to be with him again since he asked me to come back. On my arrival at his home, he slept with me, and he told me that we were going to South Africa. Despite telling him that I don’t have a passport, he said everything was sorted out. Still, it never came to mind that I needed to go back home and inform my family, “she says.

“I found myself at a place I didn’t know, but he said we were in South Africa. To my surprise, I didn’t know how I arrived because I only remembered when I entered the car. In that house, I was the only person, and I was told to clean the house, do laundry, and cook. When I asked for my room to sleep, he said I was going to sleep with him and threatened to kill me if I tried to do stupid things,” sobbed Maria.

“The sad part is when he forced himself on me every day, and neighbours were starting to be suspicious since he asked me not to talk to anyone. But one day, a community member confronted me and asked me where I was coming from and how I was related to this man. She asked me in Ixitsonga since they knew him as Xitsonga speaking,” she says.

Maria related her plight to the lady who later mobilised the community, and they confronted the man, but he denied all the allegations. He was assaulted, but fortunately, the police came to his rescue and arrested him.

The only thing the girl wants is to plead with the Department to be reunited with her family. Her dream of coming to South Africa on a holiday on a flight was shattered.