Two KuGompo City children, aged nine and 16, have been safely repatriated to South Africa after allegedly being trafficked to Malawi, where they were separated from their family following what investigators believe was a scam.
The children were brought home through a joint intervention involving the Department of Social Development, the Hawks and Interpol, and have since been reunited with their mother and grandmother.
According to the department, the family was lured to Malawi in 2024 by a Malawian national who had promised them a better life.
Eastern Cape Hawks provincial head Obed Ngwenya said the family had been approached by a man who made promises that persuaded them to leave their home and eventually travel to Malawi.
“We have learned from the complainant, who is the grandmother and the biological mother of the two children, that the perpetrator approached them with the intention of starting a business, and they were able to be convinced,” Ngwenya said.
He said the family subsequently sold the apartment where they were staying and acquired a truck before travelling from the Eastern Cape to Johannesburg and then out of the country.
While details of the family’s movements are not clear, available information indicates that the children’s mother travelled to Malawi with the girls and the alleged perpetrator, while the grandmother was also caught up in the alleged scam.
The Department of Social Development said the 64-year-old grandmother and her 32-year-old daughter suffered alleged mistreatment before returning to South Africa in January 2026.
Ngwenya said the children’s mother managed to escape and return to South Africa, while the two girls remained in Malawi.
The Hawks subsequently brought in Interpol because the investigation crossed international borders, while Social Development became involved because the victims were children.
“When we started the investigation, we used our multidisciplinary approach where we roped in ... Interpol because it is across the border to another country,” Ngwenya said.
“Also, because they are children, we used the Department of Social Services where social workers were put in place.”
The investigation eventually resulted in arrangements being made for the children to be repatriated to South Africa and reunited with their family.
“I’m glad today that we were able to bring the children back. They landed in East London, and we were able to reunite the two children healthy together with the grandmother and the biological mother because she was able, before the children were taken by social development and Interpol from Malawi to here, she was able to escape before and come back to the country,” Ngwenya said.
He said the investigation was continuing and the Hawks could not disclose further details while preparing the case for prosecution.
“Most of the information we cannot divulge now because we are still investigating so that we can put our case together and take it to the prosecution so that a decision can be made that we can bring the perpetrator to book,” he said.
The children’s return forms part of a wider intervention by the department, which said 58 children had been repatriated from various countries to South Africa and other African countries between 2023 and 2026.
Social Development MEC Bukiwe Fanta said the children had endured “unimaginable hardships” and their safe return was a significant milestone.
“Children are not statistics; they are individuals who have suffered trauma and require our compassion, support and protection,” Fanta said.
She said the department would continue working with law-enforcement agencies and non-governmental organisations to combat human trafficking and protect vulnerable children.
Ngwenya urged people to be cautious when approached with offers that could expose them or their children to danger.
“People must be wary of those scams. If ever you suspect something, then please report it to the police and also to the relevant authorities,” he said.
The department said the repatriation was conducted in line with the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act 7 of 2013, national guidelines on unaccompanied, separated and migrant children, and guidelines for family reunification.