In late February, South African authorities convicted seven Chinese nationals on nearly 160 charges related to human trafficking, debt bondage, kidnapping, labour law breaches and violations of occupational health and safety laws. It is expected that the sentence will be handed down late in April.
In 2019, police arrested 91 undocumented Malawians at the Beautiful City blanket factory in Johannesburg, where they were employed between 2017 and 2019, South African online newspaper TimesLIVE reported. The Hawks’ Serious Organized Crime unit, a branch of the South African Police Service, and members of the Tactical Response Team broke into the factory and found 33 victims between 15 and 17.
“The workers didn’t look up when we entered,” the raid’s leader, Maj. Thabo Mokoena testified at trial, The African Mirror reported. “They had been conditioned to keep working regardless of what was happening around them. It was only when we started speaking in their language that they realised something was different.”
The National Prosecuting Authority’s spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane, said the workers were confined under inhumane conditions and supervised by armed guards.
“The victims were forced to work 11-hour shifts, seven days a week, without proper training or safety equipment,” Mjonondwane said in the TimesLIVE report.
Medical treatment was denied to one worker who lost a finger. Testimony was given by witnesses about being deceived by promises of a better life to work at the factory. Most of the witnesses were Malawian nationals, with a single South African truck driver also testifying. According to victims, communication was banned, and defective machines were operated without protective gear. Apparently, the armed guards regularly threatened the workers. While on duty, the restroom was not allowed, and they were docked pay if they used it.
The African Mirror reports that the workers earn R65 ($3.55) per day, or R6.50 (35 cents) per hour, far below South Africa’s minimum wage. Several of them claimed they had previously worked at Chinese factories under false pretences. According to William, one of the Malawian workers, he travelled from his village because he was promised decent work and education..
“They took our passports,” William stated, The African Mirror reported. “They said we owed them for bringing us here, for feeding us. But the debt never decreased, no matter how much we worked.”
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in Gauteng, Maj. Gen. Ebrahim Kadwa said the trial represented an important step in preventing human trafficking. “This judgment sends a message to traffickers operating within our borders,” in an interview with The African Mirror. “South Africa will not tolerate these crimes.”
Nevertheless, analysts say South Africa has emerged as a source, transit point, and destination for human trafficking victims. 26 Ethiopians escaped from a suspected human trafficking ring in Johannesburg in January, where they were held naked in a bungalow. Human trafficking and unlawful possession of firearms were suspected in the arrest of three people.
“The signs that we have is this is a human trafficking matter because they were actually escaping from that house, and they were kept naked, almost as if it’s a modus operandi to keep them humiliated and not trying to escape,” said Philani Nkwalase, a police spokesperson for The Guardian.
The authorities found 82 Ethiopians crammed into another Johannesburg house in August without food or proper toilet and bathroom facilities. The relationship between the two cases was unclear, Nkwalase said.
