Govt urges vigilance as trafficking cases increase

Source: Govt urges vigilance as trafficking cases increase – herald

Herald Reporter

Government has warned that human trafficking and migrant smuggling have escalated into a serious national crisis in Zimbabwe, with social media platforms increasingly being used by traffickers to lure unsuspecting citizens into exploitative situations both locally and abroad.

In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage said traffickers were posing as legitimate recruitment agents and advertising fake overseas employment opportunities, particularly targeting women and girls seeking jobs in nursing, teaching, domestic work and social care. “Human trafficking and migrant smuggling have escalated into a serious national concern in Zimbabwe, with social media platforms becoming the primary hunting ground for traffickers and fraudulent recruiters,” reads the statement.

“Under the guise of legitimate overseas employment in sectors such as nursing, teaching, domestic work and social care, traffickers continue to lure unsuspecting Zimbabweans — particularly women and girls — into exploitative situations abroad.” The ministry said numerous cases had been recorded involving Zimbabwean women trafficked to Middle Eastern countries such as Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where they were promised good salaries, legal work permits and safe working conditions.

“Victims are often promised good salaries, legal work permits and safe working environments,” said the Ministry.

“Instead, many are subjected to forced labour, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. Passports are frequently confiscated, movement restricted, and victims threatened with arrest, violence or harm to their families if they attempt to escape.”

In Oman, Zimbabwean women recruited online for domestic work have reported being locked inside homes, denied wages, forced to work long hours and subjected to physical and emotional abuse after their identity documents were seized.

In Saudi Arabia, victims who were promised caregiving or teaching jobs were allegedly forced into domestic servitude, transferred between households without their consent and exposed to sexual abuse. Some were threatened with detention or deportation if they reported their ordeal.

In the UAE, fraudulent agents lured victims with promises of hotel, salon or childcare jobs. Some were later coerced into forced labour or sex work to repay inflated recruitment “debts”, leaving them trapped in cycles of exploitation.

The ministry also warned that human trafficking is not limited to cross-border crimes, noting that domestic trafficking is occurring within Zimbabwe’s borders. “While international trafficking moves victims across countries, domestic (intra-territorial) human trafficking exploits people without ever crossing a border. The methods are the same: force, fraud and coercion. The harm is the same. The suffering is real.”

The ministry said the impacts of human trafficking and migrant smuggling extend beyond individual victims and have devastating consequences for families, communities and the nation at large. Victims often suffer physical injuries, sexual and gender-based violence, trauma, depression and long-term psychological harm, with many returning home stigmatised, ill and without any financial benefit.

Families are left emotionally distressed and financially strained, particularly in cases where relatives pay recruitment fees or take on debt to secure what they believe to be legitimate employment opportunities.

At community level, trafficking erodes trust, increases vulnerability among unemployed youths and normalises unsafe migration practices, while also exposing communities to organised criminal networks.

Nationally, these crimes undermine safe labour migration efforts, fuel organised crime, contribute to brain drain in key sectors such as health and education, and damage Zimbabwe’s international reputation.

The Ministry urged the public to remain vigilant by verifying overseas job offers through licensed recruitment agencies and official government channels, avoiding payment of recruitment fees to individuals advertising on social media, and refusing to surrender passports or personal documents to agents or employers.

The public was encouraged to report suspected cases of human trafficking and migrant smuggling to the police, relevant Government ministries or recognised civil society organisations via the numbers (0242) 703 631 or WhatsApp 0712 800 197.