Minister of international relations and cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah says a total of 101 cases of trafficking in persons have been reported in Namibia since 2010.
She made these remarks in a speech read on her behalf by poverty eradication minister Doreen Sioka during the commemoration of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and the launch of the TIP national plan at Oshikango last week.
The day is observed annually on 30 July, and this year’s theme is ‘Reach Every Victim of Trafficking, Leave No One Behind’.
“Out of these cases, 38 are under investigation, 24 are to be tried, five have been submitted to the prosecutor general for decision-making, and 34 cases have been finalised,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said.
She said 60 victims, including men, women and children, have been assisted.
“In 2022/23, 10 victims were repatriated safely to Namibia, and the other 10 were repatriated to their countries of origin,” she said.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s global report on human trafficking for 2022, approximately 450 000 victims and 300 000 (potential) perpetrators were identified globally between 2003 and 2021.
Last year, 31 Namibian women between the ages of 27 and 40 became victims of human trafficking to Oman, and only 21 have been safely returned to Namibia at their families’ cost.
The women were allegedly recruited as domestic workers in Oman.
Nandi-Ndaitwah said the victims allegedly hitch-hiked from Namibia to South Africa and boarded planes to Oman once all the necessary documentation was arranged by agents in Oman, using South Africa as a transit country.
“It is alleged that the prospective employers in Oman made funds available to the agent in Namibia to facilitate logistical and travel expenses, including air tickets.
“In addition, the Namibian recruitment agent also charges facilitation fees for arranging employment opportunities,” she said.
According to Nandi-Ndaitwah, the employers allegedly confiscated the victims’ passports and cellphones upon their arrival in Oman, and forced them to sign employment contracts in Arabic, with strict provisions.
“It has been further reported that the victims are working under horrendous conditions and are expected to work 19 hours per day, seven days a week, with very few resting hours,” she said.
The minister said employers (sponsors) in Oman indicated they would only release the victims upon receipt of the reimbursement of a bondage fee of between N$37 000 and N$50 000.
The police have in the past received information on alleged human trafficking to the United Kingdom and Turkey.
National police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi says these crimes are regarded as concealed crimes, which, in most cases, are only detected once the police are alerted.
“Hence our appeal to the public to report this. Even if there is a mere suspicion of human trafficking, it must be reported immediately.
“The public is encouraged to safeguard especially children as they are the most vulnerable, and young unemployed people are also warned to be wary of the advertisements of jobs abroad on social media, because they are made luxurious promises and taken abroad just to become sex workers or hard labourers,” she says.
Shikwambi last year said the agents who recruited the women were Namibians based in Windhoek and at Grootfontein.
It is also alleged that the majority of the trafficked women were Ovaherero.
The police say trips to these countries can cost up to N$40 000, which is mostly covered by the facilitators.
This causes disputes between employees and employers, upon which the women are not allowed to return to Namibia before repaying their facilitators.
Zimbabwe and Nigeria are currently dealing with human trafficking cases in Oman, Shikwambi says.
In 2022, the Zimbabwean government said 18 of its citizens were in Oman and have sent distress calls, claiming they were being abused by their employers in what appeared to be a human trafficking ring.
Nandi-Ndaitwah at the event said the ministry is still to finalise the National Action Plan on Trafficking in Persons 2023 to 2028 and to coordinate national initiatives against trafficking in persons through the National Coordinating Body.
So far, three shelters have been upgraded to accommodate victims of trafficking in persons.
