Two brothers accused of trafficking Mozambicans for farm labour convicted of being in SA illegally

Two brothers arrested in Mpumalanga for conspiring to traffic 39 victims from Mozambique have been convicted of being in the country illegally.

Carlos Bernardo Guambe, 34, and Gabriel Bernardo Guambe, 32, were sentenced last week to three months' imprisonment or a R5,000 fine each by the Belfast magistrate's court.

According to Hawks spokesperson Capt Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi, they were remanded until Wednesday when they join their co-accused, [father and son] Cornelis Johannes Uys, 60, and Cornelis Johannes Albertus Uys, 23, for trial on charges of contravening the Trafficking in Persons Act by participating in trafficking or conspiring to traffic people.

According to the Hawks, the victims were recruited from Mozambique and brought into SA in a taxi.

“The victims were transported from Mozambique to the border whereby they had to get out of the taxi and cross the border illegally through the river into SA, from where they were taken by the taxi to Mashishing,” Sekgotodi said.

“The son of the farm owner and one trafficker allegedly met with the taxi driver and paid him money in exchange for the victims, who were taken to the farm for labour.”

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