THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed concern at reports of Zimbabweans being recruited for work or on scholarships in the Middle East and in the process are duped by human traffickers.
BY STAFF REPORTER
In a statement, the ministry said the Trafficking in Persons Act of 2014 on the prohibition, prevention and prosecution of people involved in human trafficking would be executed to its full potential so that perpetrators of the heinous crime face the full wrath of the law.
“There are a number of Zimbabwean women currently in Kuwait, who are seeking assistance to return home. So far, about 13 women have been successfully brought back home,” the ministry said.
It said in light of these developments, the government had set up an inter-ministerial committee made up of all relevant stakeholders to come up with proposals for the short-term and recommendations for the long-term.
“The ministry would like to advise all Zimbabweans offered seemingly lucrative job offers and generous educational opportunities to be extremely circumspect and verify the authenticity and integrity of those people or organisations before accepting to travel out of the country. Anything which seems to be too good to be true cannot be true,” the Foreign Affairs ministry said.
“The ministry and our embassies abroad stand ready to assist and advise all those who may require assistance.”
A Kuwaiti embassy official, Brenda Avril May, and a number of locals have since been arrested on charges of human trafficking in a scandal which has also implicated a former Kuwaiti ambassador to Zimbabwe.
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It is the State’s case that May allegedly worked in connivance with Kuwaiti nationals to recruit desperate Zimbabweans under the guise of employment, yet they would be subjected to inhuman treatment upon arrival in the Middle East country.
