Man locked up for smuggling children into Botswana

A Zimbabwean man, Arnold Nyoni (23), has appeared before the Francistown Magistrates Court in Botswana, charged with smuggling four children from Zimbabwe to South Africa via Botswana.

Nyoni was arrested last Friday after successfully crossing the border but was caught while refueling his car at a petrol station in Matsiloje.

Nyoni had valid travel documents, but the children - three boys and a girl aged between nine and 15 - lacked the necessary paperwork. The children, who are not related, are currently being cared for at a police shelter in Ghetto.

Nyoni faces charges of child smuggling and remains in custody while authorities work to locate the children's parents. There is a noted increase in child smuggling during school holidays in Zimbabwe, as parents working in South Africa often transport their children without proper documentation. Zimbabwean schools closed on August 8.