The Department of Social Development has successfully repatriated a toddler who was being held in a Dakar prison in Senegal.
The department’s social workers arrived at OR Tambo International Airport on Sunday with a two-year-old baby who was born in Senegal and has been in the care of the mother, who was arrested in 2023 for drug trafficking.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco), through its international social services directorate, notified the Department of Social Development in August 2023 that the child’s mother had been arrested in February.
“It is reported that within days of her incarceration, she gave birth to the child. Due to the mother’s incarceration, the child is considered to be in distress since prison is not a conducive environment for the upbringing of the child,” said the Social Services Department.
Grandmother nominated as the guardian
The South African government, through the Dirco, initiated a process of repatriating the child by first visiting the mother to ascertain her wishes about her child.
“The mother nominated the grandmother of the child as the guardian while she serves her sentence in Senegal,” said the Department of Social Development.
The department then requested that the Eastern Cape provincial department investigate the circumstances of the nominated foster parent to assess her suitability to care for the child.
“The child will be integrated with the mother’s family in the Eastern Cape, and the department will continue providing child protection services and provide support to the family.”
According to the department, Section 7, sub-section (1), (f), (ii), of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 requires it to act in the child’s best interests at all times and stipulates that a child must maintain a connection with their family, extended family, culture, or tradition.
21 kids repatriated since 2015
Lindiwe Zulu, the Minister of Social Development, said the department will always put the best interests of the child first.
“However, we remain concerned about the issue of drugs and what they can do to children,” Zulu said.
“This unborn baby ended up in distress in a foreign country because the mother was arrested for trafficking drugs.
“We cannot stress enough the importance of young people making the right decisions about their lives.”
Since 2015, the department has repatriated 21 children in distress.
According to the data, seven were repatriated from Zimbabwe, three from Brazil, two each from Malawi, Mozambique, Canada and Tanzania; and one each from Ghana, the UK, Peru, Mauritius and Senegal. – SAnews.gov.za
