Declare misrepresents the character of trafficking
The message circulating in November 2024 is usually similar to one that Africa Check debunked in January. Each make similar claims about baby trafficking in South Africa that aren’t simply unsupported however contradicted by accessible information. For extra element, learn Africa Verify’s previous fact-check, or other fact-checks of similar child trafficking claims.
The declare that South Africa ranks fourth on this planet on a “baby trafficking listing” (is “nr 4 in die wêreld nou op die kinderhandel lys”) isn’t true. No such listing exists, and available international data doesn’t point out that South Africa is a baby trafficking hotspot.
There isn’t a proof that zama zamas, a slang time period referring to unlawful miners, are a part of child-trafficking networks and transport kids by means of underground tunnels. Unlawful mining is complicated and is commonly related to different crimes, however there’s no proof that unlawful miners are concerned in baby trafficking. Quite the opposite, they’re the most vulnerable parties concerned in unlawful mining operations, and could also be victims of trafficking themselves.
The message additionally warns about what occurs to baby trafficking victims: “As jou type mooi is, phrase hulle seks slawe, anders.. orgaan skenkers.” (This implies: “In case your baby is fairly, they turn out to be intercourse slaves, others … organ donors.”)
Whereas it’s confidently delivered, this declare is one other misrepresentation. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime discovered, as of 2022, that trafficking in southern sub-Saharan Africa was often motivated by sexual exploitation or pressured labour. Nevertheless, accessible data means that organ trafficking is extremely rare. (Be aware that these findings had been about trafficking usually, not baby trafficking, and never particular to South Africa, however to the area.)
Maybe the most important giveaway that this message is unreliable is how confidently it’s delivered. Specialists have described human trafficking as an “elusive statistical nightmare” and said that “little or no dependable information exists to find out the character and scope of the issue”. However this message makes assured claims about particulars large and small which might require reliable sources.
‘Fanie Polisieman Van Vuuren’ and firm don’t rely as dependable sources
The one noteworthy distinction between this new variation of the child-trafficking declare and the preferred older versions is the addition of two names and a neighborhood newspaper article. However these aren’t convincing sources.
The message begins off “Fanie Polisieman Van Vuuren”. Some variations seem like signed “David Conradie van Landelike Veiligheid” and, once more, “Fanie Polisieman Van Vuuren”.
“Polisieman” means “policeman” and “Fanie van Vuuren” is a standard Afrikaans identify, much like one thing like “John Smith” in English. There are actual folks with the identify “Fanie van Vuuren”, however Africa Verify might discover no proof that this message got here from an actual police officer, or every other dependable supply, with this or an analogous identify.
The one place that the complete phrase “Fanie Polisieman Van Vuuren” turned up on-line was in variations of the viral message itself. It appears seemingly that the identify has been made up.
The identify and designation “David Conradie van Landelike Veiligheid”, or “David Conradie of Rural Security”, can also be a trigger for concern. Once more, folks with this pretty widespread identify exist, however there isn’t a proof any of them are the supply of this message, or consultants on baby trafficking in South Africa. “Rural Security” may very well be a reference to an initiative by the South African Police Service or a centre arrange by AgriSA, a federation of organisations grown out of the South African Agricultural Union. This ambiguity is suspicious. And we couldn’t discover a “David Conradie” at both SAPS or AgriSA.
Lastly, the viral message frequently hyperlinks to a Boksburg Advertiser article with the headline Boksburg private investigator offers tips to avoid falling victim to kidnapping. However this text doesn’t help any of the claims made within the message and makes no point out of “Fanie van Vuuren” or “David Conradie”.
The article and the hyperlink to it includes a picture of a person, who Fb customers may suppose is supposed to be “Fanie van Vuuren”. However the picture is captioned “Matt Venter is the CEO of Lacking in SA”. This seems to be the identical Matt Venter listed as chief govt officer on the web site of Pascoe Investigations, a Johannesburg-based non-public detective agency quoted within the article. There may be, once more, no connection to any “Fanie van Vuuren”.
