A Mandlazini primary school girl narrowly escaped an attempted abduction and ran back to the safety of the school in the nick of time, on Friday afternoon.
This is according to the Mayor of uThungulu, Thembeka Mchunu, who recounted the incident at a newly formed crime prevention forum, held at the City of uMhlathuze Auditorium on Monday.
The mayor, who verified the incident with the parents and school over the weekend, said the girl was on her way home when a car drove up to her and the occupants offered her money to get in.
When she refused, they started harassing her and at a stage threw the money out of the window, seemingly attempting to entice her to pick it up.
The petrified child started running back to the school, where she was assisted by a teacher who had not yet left.
‘As a city, we almost experienced a human trafficking incident,’ the Mayor warned.
‘We need to go out into community to do crime prevention.
‘As councillors we are tasked to look at how we deal with the community and how we can reduce the high crime levels.
‘It is not only the duty of SAPS and the CPF’s. Community leaders need to move closer to the community to engage and connect with them.
The mayor also said parents should use child grants for the benefit of children and ensure that they have safe transport.
Brigadier Brenda Mgenge, who was present at the meeting, promised that SAPS will investigate the incident.
Coincidentally, Mandlazini was one of the areas targeted for awareness campaigns by Pastor Caroline Pitout of Freedom Generation SA and the KZN Human Trafficking, Pornography, Prostitution and Brothels (HTPPB) Task Team, in cooperation with SAPS and the Zululand Observer.
During the campaigns, Pastor Pitout told children to never accept sweets, money or lifts from strangers.
‘Run away as fast as you can – don’t even look back,’ she warned.
Pastor Pitout has been invited to do human trafficking awareness campaigns at churches in Bronkhorstspruit over the weekend together with the founder of the People Search and Rescue Unit (PSARU), which specialises in finding missing persons.
PSARU is championed by TV personality Hykie Berg and does not require a person to be missing for 48 hours before commencing the search.
The company offers services including a specialised team of investigators, K9 unit and trauma counseling.
Meanwhile Pastor Pitout was elated with the news that the Mandlazini girl was unharmed.
‘If one vulnerable child hears the message and uses the information when it is crucial to act, all the efforts have been worthwhile.
‘We thank God for that brave little girl.’
