South African police find 26 naked Ethiopians held captive by suspected human traffickers | South Africa

South African police have rescued 26 Ethiopians suspected to be part of a human trafficking ring in Johannesburg after they broke windows and bars to escape from a house where they were being held naked.

Three people were arrested on Thursday night on suspicion of human trafficking and illegal possession of firearms after neighbors in the Sandringham suburb heard a disturbance and called police, the Hawks’ Serious Crime Unit said in a statement. Police appealed to the public to report any other naked people in the area.

Local television station eNCA reported that around 60 Ethiopian men were being held captive in a bungalow, with footage showing blood splattered under an open window at the front of the house. According to police, 11 people were taken to hospital for treatment. Many Ethiopians remain on the run, evading police capture.

“The indications we’re getting are that this is a human trafficking issue, because they were actually trying to escape from that home, but it’s like a means of continuing to humiliate them and not try to escape. Because they were left naked, as if they were women,” said Filani Nkwaradze. Police spokesperson.

South Africa has seen an influx of immigrants from all over Africa since the end of apartheid more than 30 years ago. But concerns that they are smuggling drugs, increasing unemployment and violent crime are fueling deep-rooted xenophobia.

According to the 2022 census, approximately 2.4 million of South Africa’s 62 million people are foreign-born. The census aims to count the population regardless of immigration status. There are about 58,000 Ethiopians in the country, although more than three-quarters come from other states in southern Africa.

In August 2024, 82 Ethiopians were found crammed into a house in the same area of ​​Johannesburg without adequate food or proper toilet and bathroom facilities. Seven of them were initially considered minors, and 19 others claimed to be minors when they went to court on charges of illegally entering South Africa.

In a statement late that month, the Home Office said: “They were all illegal migrants who were smuggled into the country and not victims of human trafficking.”

Mr Nkwarase said it was not yet clear whether the two incidents were related, and the language barrier meant officers were unable to get answers from the men about how, why and when they came to South Africa. The police added that they were looking for an interpreter.

A neighbor of the house where the Ethiopians fled told eNCA he was shocked by the incident and said he last saw someone on the property a few weeks ago when he went to retrieve a ball kicked by his son. He added that it was only time. fence.