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Moz child traffickers 'lied'
01/02/2008 14:41 - (SA)
Maputo - A senior religious leader in Maputo has said he was not expecting to receive 40 children who were allegedly trafficked from northern Mozambique, state media reported on Friday.
Sheik Amimuddin Mohamad, the president of the Islamic Council of Mozambique and the head of the Hamza Islamic institute in Maputo, said he was not expecting the children who had since been rescued by authorities in the central province of Manica.
He told the paper that in the past his institution annually received children from some of the country's provinces who wanted to further their Islamic studies, but said this time he had no information that children had been recruited for that purpose.
The ages of the children who were enrolled in the institution ranged between 10 and 12 years.
Illegal activities
He said most of the children were admitted to the institution after the Ramadan festivals and during this time they were provided with decent transport facilities.
Sheik Mohamad said he had received calls from some parents of the children after they were rescued, asking for his intervention.
He however could not rule out the existence of people whom he said were opportunists who involved themselves in illegal activities.
Maulana Mouhamad, who was based at an Islamic centre in Tete, said he was expecting 17 children at his college after he received 18 last year.
This week, police arrested seven people for allegedly trafficking 40 children after they were found in a truck in Inchope district of Manica province.
The arrested individuals alleged the children were destined for Maputo and Tete province to continue religious studies.
Parents pay for food
It was believed that the children could have been destined for South Africa, which migration authorities regard as a fertile market for trafficked people, accounting for an estimated 1 000 Mozambicans each year.
The arrested individuals were Islamic elders of a Nampula based Islamic madrassa.
They included Abdula Garcia, the head of the Hamza madrassa in Nampula city, Amade Mussa Bilaule and Amade Rachid Alfane, co-ordinator and secretary-general of the same madrassa respectively and Felisberto Joaquim Pinga, the driver of the truck, which was transporting the children.
They said they had transported the children with the blessings of their parents, adding that they had written declarations to this effect.
Parents of the children had paid transport and food allowances for the children ranging between $100 and $150.
Among the allegedly trafficked children were two girls who were to continue with their Islamic studies at a centre in Maputo.
However, the police told the paper they were treating the case as trafficking until they verified the details.
Pedro Jemusse, police spokesperson in Manica province, said that poor parents could have been coerced into agreement for the trafficking of their children after promises of financial gains.
- SAPA
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