Zuko Komisa

In Khuma Stilfontein, in the North West, 96 undocumented youngsters were discovered to be involved in a group of illegal miners and were subsequently placed under arrest.
The Department of Social Development said in a statement on Wednesday that the North West provincial department had been notified of the arrests of minors without proper documentation.
The Department of Social Development is, in terms of the Constitution of South Africa, the Children’s Act, Child Justice Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), mandated to protect the rights of children.
Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho are the SADC nations where the majority of illegal miners, including the undocumented children, are thought to be from.
“Based on the outcomes of the court proceedings, the department will seek to place all identified and legally declared undocumented children in accommodation and provide for their basic needs, while they are still waiting to be processed in terms of the Child Justice Act.
“The court will, in terms of the provisions of the Child Justice Act formally charge the children whilst they are placed in the safety of the facilities of the department,”
“During this period of processing, the department will as part of its child protection services conduct a comprehensive assessment to ascertain if they are indeed children who are in need of care and protection.
“The department will continue to provide the necessary support until the repatriation process is concluded,” the department said
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