Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, [email protected]
THE International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Zimbabwe has urged the governments of Zimbabwe and South Africa, working with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to strengthen collaboration in providing accurate information on migration risks and expanding safe, legal pathways.
This comes amid a worrying rise in child smuggling cases between the two neighbouring countries.
The Zimbabwe–South Africa migration corridor is one of the busiest in Southern Africa, driven largely by economic pressures, family separation and the search for education and employment opportunities.
However, authorities say the movement of children through irregular channels has increasingly become pronounced during public and school holidays, when border traffic surges and enforcement capacity is stretched.
Cases of child smuggling through formal ports of entry and illegal crossing points along the border are common, with children often sent unaccompanied using bus crews or light motor vehicle cross-border transporters, commonly known as omalayitsha.
In many instances, when smugglers sense heightened scrutiny from border officials, children are abandoned in the bush, exposing them to extreme danger, exploitation and abuse.
Under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants, migrant smuggling is defined as the intentional facilitation of the irregular movement of persons across international borders for financial or material gain.
IOM Zimbabwe spokesperson, Fadzai Nyamande-Pangeti, said preventing parents from resorting to irregular migration requires sustained community awareness on both the dangers and legal consequences of such journeys.
“There is a need to improve access to legal documentation and simplify cross-border travel procedures for families, as this can significantly reduce the incentive for irregular travel,” she said.
Nyamande-Pangeti added that addressing the root causes pushing families to take such risks — including poverty, limited educational opportunities and inadequate access to social services — through targeted social and economic development programmes was critical in discouraging perilous journeys.
“In addition, there should be measures to hold smugglers accountable through intelligence-led investigations, financial tracking and asset seizure, enhanced cross-border law enforcement co-operation and strengthened anti-corruption measures at borders. Criminalising parents often backfires, as it pushes migration further underground,” she said.
Nyamande-Pangeti warned that children who undergo irregular migration between Zimbabwe and South Africa frequently suffer severe psychological trauma.
“The journey itself can expose them to distressing experiences such as family separation, violence, abuse and prolonged uncertainty, which may result in anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder,” she said.
Nyamande-Pangeti added that the lack of stability, access to education and healthcare in destination areas often worsens feelings of insecurity and social isolation, with long-term effects on children’s emotional development and ability to adapt.
“When smugglers’ operations are threatened, children are often abandoned without care, leaving them exposed to further exploitation and danger. During transit, minors are also at high risk of sexual exploitation,” she said.
Nyamande-Pangeti stressed that unsafe and irregular migration poses a serious child protection threat, particularly for unaccompanied minors.
“Children are among the most vulnerable within migrant populations. They face heightened risks to their survival, health and dignity, and are more likely to experience violence, exploitation or abuse,” she said.
