Phalombe Police appeals for support to fight child trafficking

Phalombe Police Station spokesperson Innocent Moses says despite several interventions, child trafficking in the district is still a problem which needs to be addressed.

The spokesperson says this year they have rescued 13 children who were being trafficked to Mozambique after being promised them lucrative jobs there. This is the same number they rescued between January and November this year, according to Moses.

He said: “We have rescued 13 children [mostly aged between 12 and 16] with the help of some non-governmental organisations [NGOs] such as River of Life Organisation and Resilient Communities African Trust. Community police who are spread across the areas in the district also did a good job”.

Moses appealed for continued support from the NGOs to curb the malpractice.

On her part, Eye of the Child head of transit monitoring and interception programme on human trafficking Zipporah Jede condemned such malpractices and said they are engaging relevant stakeholders in raising awareness on the consequences of the act.

A statement by Ndanga Child Protection Committee member Mercy Malinga, which appeared in The Nation on December 22 last year, shows that most parents do not care to know their children’s whereabouts at a particular time and some allow them to go to overnights events such as dances without even ensuring their security. n