Minister of Defence, Justice and Secuirty, Shaw Kgathi, says since enactment of the Anti-Human Trafficking Act of 2014, 21 cases have been detected and all were investigated. Only one case has been completed, and the accused convicted and sentenced to a wholly suspended sentence. 16 cases have been registered before the courts, and are at various stages of prosecution. Two cases were classified as domestic human trafficking, but were eventually closed due to insufficient evidence to prosecute. He said his ministry follows pre-existing written guiding procedures from the Department of Social Protection for handling persons in need of protection.
Kgathi was responding to Specially Elected MP Mephato Reatile had asked the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security if there have been any cases of human trafficking detected, investigated and prosecuted since the implementation of the Human Trafficking Act of 2014; and if so, to state (i) the number of cases that have been detected, investigated and prosecuted; (ii) how many have been classified as domestic human trafficking; and (iii) whether there are any formal written procedures specific to guiding the handling of identified victims of human trafficking.