13 Zimbabwean Women Rescued From ‘Slavery’ In Kuwait

Source: zimbabwedaily.com

Simbarashe Mumbengegwi - Zimbabwean Foreign Affairs Minister
Simbarashe Mumbengegwi – Zimbabwean Foreign Affairs Minister Photo Credit: news.cn

 

Some 13 Zimbabwean women have been rescued from Kuwait and are now home.

The news comes as Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi has warned Zimbabweans being offered lucrative job opportunities and generous scholarships outside the country to be careful.

Mumbengegwi has expressed concern over reports coming from the embassy in the state of Kuwait regarding Zimbabweans who have been recruited for work or scholarships only to be duped by human traffickers.

He said the case in which a local diplomat was implicated in such scams is being investigated by the relevant authorities and appropriate law will be applied to bring the culprits to book if found guilty.

Although diplomats enjoy immunity from prosecution in the host country, it does not mean impunity.

Mumbengegwi said the appropriate section of the Vienna Convention which governs the conduct of diplomats will be invoked to deal with those found guilty of human trafficking.

“It has to be established if the mentioned embassy was aware that they were issuing visas for purposes of human trafficking and if that is proved, then the law will take its course,” said Minister Mumbengegwi.

On Monday the 29th of February, the ZBC News broke the story of the alleged human trafficking scam.

Investigations that followed resulted in the arrest of eight people including an official from the Kuwait Embassy, Brenda Avril May.

So far, 13 women have successfully been brought home though some are in poor health.

The ZBC News has also established that in some cases, victims would find an opportunity to send SOS messages to their relatives back home, but their captors demand repayment for air fares and the money they paid to buy the so called slaves.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

WP Radio
WP Radio
OFFLINE LIVE