With 23 reported cases between June and October this year, the Ministry of Youth, Gender, and Social Development, through its Department of Child Protection, is intensifying efforts to raise public awareness about the growing issue of unaccompanied and separated migrant children.
The reported cases involve children aged eight to 16, with two exceptional cases of children under five years old. On October 24, 12 unaccompanied minors were returned from South Africa to their families at the Qacha’s Nek border post, the ministry confirmed.
These children, six boys and six girls aged five to fourteen, had been under the care of the Eastern Cape Social Development after their attempts to visit parents working in South Africa went awry.
Two of the children, siblings born in 2018 and 2020 and believed to be from Quthing, had left in 2022. The remaining ten children departed in June 2025 from Ha Sekake, Qabane, Ha Ramoroke, and Mosaqane. Among them, two grade-seven students missed their examinations due to the journey.
The awareness campaign aims to educate parents and caregivers on the severe risks and legal violations associated with illegal cross-border migration arrangements for children. Senior Child Welfare Officer Mamahlubi Phororo highlighted that unaccompanied and separated migrants are among the most vulnerable children in the child protection system.
“The issue often arises from Basotho adults moving to South Africa for work, leading to hazardous and often illegal arrangements for their children,” Phororo said. “Parents are violating the Children and Welfare Protection Act and immigration laws by allowing children to travel on their own, often through public or private transport they organise without a responsible carer.”
Many children cross into South Africa without essential documents such as passports or birth certificates, and frequently use illegal border points. “Parents often entrust their children to individuals whose backgrounds they do not know,” Phororo warned. “This exposes children to abuse, stress, depression, and, most critically, human trafficking.”
When such children are found by South African authorities, they are often suspected of being trafficking victims and are placed in child protection facilities while investigations continue.
The subsequent process of repatriation involves multiple levels of coordination, from the South African authorities to the Lesotho Ministry, and then to the relevant district offices to trace families and determine care arrangements.
“Officers must locate the families, conduct interviews, and assess who will care for the children upon their return,” Phororo explained. “This tedious process often disrupts the children’s education and adds to their emotional strain.”
The ministry is intensifying this campaign in response to the increasing frequency of these cases. “We are stepping up because these children are at significant risk of trafficking and abuse,” Phororo said. “Our goal is to ensure parents understand the full impact of their actions before it’s too late.”
Summary
- With 23 reported cases between June and October this year, the Ministry of Youth, Gender, and Social Development, through its Department of Child Protection, is intensifying efforts to raise public awareness about the growing issue of unaccompanied and separated migrant children.
- Parents are violating the Children and Welfare Protection Act and immigration laws by allowing children to travel on their own, often through public or private transport they organise without a responsible care.
- The subsequent process of repatriation involves multiple levels of coordination, from the South African authorities to the Lesotho Ministry, and then to the relevant district offices to trace families and determine care arrangements.
Ntsoaki Motaung is an award-winning health journalist from Lesotho, specializing in community health stories with a focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as HIV. She has contributed to platforms like “Be in the KNOW,” highlighting issues such as the exclusion of people with disabilities from HIV prevention efforts in Lesotho.
In addition to her journalism, Ntsoaki serves as the Country Coordinator for the Regional Media Action Plan Support Network (REMAPSEN). She is also a 2023 CPHIA Journalism Fellow.
