Government says social media is aiding criminals to lure victims

Home Affairs Minister Peter Mukhito has warned that human trafficking in Malawi has gone digital, with criminal networks using social media and fake job adverts to lure thousands of jobseekers into exploitation abroad.

Speaking in Lilongwe on Thursday during commemorations of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, Mukhito called the crime “one of the cruelest and most dehumanising”.

“Traffickers are adapting. Malawians must adapt faster,” he said, calling for stronger cyber capabilities, public vigilance and cross-border cooperation.  Global digital human trafficking has become modern-day slavery, with criminal networks using Facebook, WhatsApp and TikTok to hunt victims worldwide.

In poor countries such as Malawi, traffickers exploit unemployment by advertising fake overseas jobs with huge salaries.

Desperate youth pay fees and travel, only to be trapped in forced labour, debt bondage and abuse abroad. Smartphones have replaced street recruiters. Poverty and digital access now combine to turn online job scams into a global chain of exploitation and human commodification.

The threat is no longer small-scale, according to Inspector General of Police Richard Luhanga.

He said police recorded 16 trafficking cases this year, but admitted the true number is likely much higher because many victims do not realise they have been trafficked until it is too late.

Digital platforms are now the main recruitment tool. Luhanga cited the recent rescue of two Malawians from Myanmar, where they were allegedly imprisoned and forced to work in scam compounds, and ongoing repatriations from Mozambique of Malawians trafficked to South Africa.

International Organisation for Migration (IOM) programme officer Alina Zalewski said Malawi sits on one of Africa’s busiest irregular migration routes.

Between 10 000 and 20 000 migrants use the southern corridor through Malawi each year, with Dzaleka Refugee Camp functioning as a key transit point, Zalewski said.

Malawi is now both a source, transit and destination country, she added.

The vice’s implications go beyond individual suffering. Economically, trafficking drains Malawi of its youth labour force at a time of high unemployment.

Families lose money paid to traffickers, while victims who could remit from legitimate jobs abroad end up indebted or exploited.

The country’s reputation also suffers, making it harder for Malawians to access genuine overseas employment.

On security, authorities warn that trafficking networks are increasingly linked to transnational organised crime—including fraud, money laundering and smuggling.

Weak digital investigation capacity means traffickers operate with impunity, undermining border security and intelligence sharing in the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) region, according to studies.

Malawi’s response is also under global scrutiny. According to the United States Department of State’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report, Malawi remains on Tier 2.

The report notes increased budget, victim referrals, and awareness campaigns, but also fewer investigations and prosecutions. In 2024 police investigated 16 cases, prosecuted 19, and convicted 4 traffickers.

Key gaps cited in the report include inconsistent victim screening, no operational trafficking database, weak oversight of recruitment agencies and official complicity.

The report urges Malawi to enforce victim-protection, prosecute complicit officials, fund shelters and train frontline staff to stop the inappropriate penalization of victims.

Government and partners say the response must combine local law with international frameworks Malawi has already signed.

Civipol BMM national coordinator Maxwell Matewere said government should indeed strengthen its response to human trafficking and enhance the use of  technology during case detection, rescue and support potential or exploited trafficking victims.

“The Internet is part of everyday life for billions of people around the globe. Daily activities that once necessitated in-person interaction – from shopping to romance, banking online. As the world has become more tech-savvy, so have human traffickers,” he said.

Matewere said the Internet and digital platforms offer traffickers numerous tools to recruit, exploit and advertise victims; organise their transport, accommodation, hide criminal proceeds and all that with greater speed, cost-effectiveness and anonymity. 

CIVIPOL BMM with support from EU is supporting law enforcement officers to use technology to protect digital spaces from criminal abuse.

Domestically, the Trafficking in Persons Act (2015) and the Penal Code criminalise recruitment through deception.

Mukhito said these must be enforced alongside new cyber investigation units within police and immigration.

Malawi Network Against Trafficking coordinator Caleb Thole called for urgent digital investigative training for officers and increased donor funding. 

“Verify before you travel, question before you travel, report before it is too late,” said Mukhito