Zim man smuggle 4 children into Botswana, turns girl into a sex slave

GABORONE - In a twisted tale of deceit, abuse and child trafficking, Botswana police have arrested a 39-year-old Zimbabwean man for smuggling children into the country and sexually abusing one of them.
Tlokweng Station Commander Superintendent Lebalang Maniki has said that the Zimbabwean man whose name he couldn't release to the media, was arrested for uttering threats to kill and was possibly being investigated for abduction.
Early last month police received information that the man was keeping four children whose origins were unknown. 
When police started investigating the matter it was discovered that the man had threatened to kill one of the children - a 17-year-old girl.
Maniki added: "The four children aged 17, 11, eight and two have been moved to a safe place while police, with the assistance of Interpol, are tracking the children's legal guardians. 
"We have a suspicion that the mother of the three youngest children is in Zimbabwe."
When contacted for comment, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Botswana head Mukondi Mpeiwa said there was a need to establish the children's true identities.
"Once their identities have been established, a family tracing exercise should be conducted successfully with a view to facilitate a reunion with their mother," he said.
"It is unfortunate that there are currently no laws in Botswana to directly address human trafficking which may lead to a situation where the man can only be charged for minor immigration offences."
Mepiwa expressed worry over the fact that the man successfully evaded two sets of immigration checkpoints with four children when he was bringing them into the country illegally.
"It could be a sign of either corruption or relaxed monitoring on the part of officials both on the Botswana and Zimbabwe sides," he said.
Information reaching The Voice, however, has indicated that the man lured the older child, 17, to travel with him to Botswana from Zimbabwe with a promise to help her find her parents in South Africa.
He smuggled the other children (one boy and two girls) aged 11, eight and two through the border by hiding them under the bus seats it has transpired.
Instead of assisting the teenager to find her parents in South Africa as he had promised the man allegedly kept the young girl as a sex slave and threatened to kill her if she told anyone her story.
After two months of physical and sexual abuse the teenager escaped and sought refuge at a Zimbabwean pastor's house.
However, the pastor too began to sexually abuse the girl and encouraged her to report the kidnapper to the police for abduction and rape.
But as fate would have it on the day she decided to follow the pastor's advice her luck ran out as she ran into the same man she was going to report.
He allegedly recaptured her and took her back to his house in Tlokweng where he continued to abuse her.
But as she attempted to lodge a rape case against the pastor police discovered that she was an illegal immigrant. 
On further probing the girl revealed that the man had threatened to kill her hence the charge.