Minister of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, Patricia Kaliati, disclosed the return of children who were abducted recently by a business man in an interview with Press last Friday.
She said the ministry got a tip from well-wishers about the missing of these children and that they were in Mozambique at a certain orphanage waiting for identification to ensure they are indeed children from Malawi.
She said the ministry official and police officers travelled to the location to find out where exactly the children were being kept and how safe they were.
“The first time when the police officer and the Mwanza District Commissioner went to Mozambique could not be allowed to see the children, so the ministry made the arrangement to meet with the Malawi’s High Commissioner and have some documentations to release the children,” said Kaliati.
She said the handover ceremony took place on Thursday at Mwanza Border, the children are now in the country but they seem to be traumatized and there is need to counsel them.
“Right now they are in Zomba and we will link up with Youth Net and Counseling (YONECO) who will counsel these children before they go back to their homes and continue with school.
Some of these children are very small, others 6 years old. We hear reports from those who went to the handover ceremony of the children that the suspect was found with AK47 riffle in his car without license, even the car had no license at all,” said Kaliati.
She said her ministry in collaboration with the Malawi Police Service will conduct a research to trace and know what really happened to these children and make sure that the suspect is given a stiff punishment
