The government has raised alarm over trafficking networks and the safety of Batswana after two young men were hoodwinked into joining the Russian army through fake training and job recruitment schemes that are being investigated
BONGANI MALUNGA
The government has launched an investigation into an alleged human trafficking scheme in which two Batswana men were deceived into joining the Russian army.
The men were allegedly lured to Russia under the pretext of enrolling them on development and skills-training courses only for them to find themselves coerced into military service.
INTERNATIONAL LAW
The Ministry of International Relations has condemned the incident and chacterised it as a serious violation of human rights and international law.
The probe will seek to establish how the recruitment network operated, identify those responsible and determine whether additional citizens may have been targeted through similar deceptive schemes.
REPATRIATIONS
The ministry will take urgent steps “through diplomatic channels and in consultation with law enforcement authorities” to delve deep into the matter and facilitate repatriations of the two individuals, it said in a statement.
“The ministry … is actively engaged in this matter to ascertain the authenticity of the reports and establish the whereabouts and condition of the two young men, to facilitate their repatriation,” said the MoH statement.
DUBIOUS ONLINE RECRUITMENT
Batswana have been warned to remain vigilant in order to avoid falling prey to dubious online recruitment programmes and emphasised the need to estabish the authenticity of such programmes.
In recent months, Batswana have fallen victim to human trafficking schemes that advertise international job offers in the United Kingdom, Sierra Leone and Russia that turned out to be fake.
“The youth are encouraged to remain vigilant and to engage relevant authorities, including Botswana diplomatic missions, to verify the authenticity of recruitment proposals,” the MoH statement emphasised.