HOPE RESTORED AS GOVERNMENT SECURES REUNIFICATION OF TANZANIAN BOY AFTER 10-YEAR ORDEAL

By Madali Chibambu

• A young Tanzanian boy will be boarding a flight on Sunday, 18 May 2025, to reunite with his long-lost family.
•  ⁠Thirteen-year-old Simon Zulu-Juma* has lived in South Africa since he was three – being left alone after the death of his grandmother.
• ⁠His journey home is thanks to the hard work of the Gauteng Department of Social Development’s social workers and the Tanzanian Embassy in South Africa, who tracked and traced his father across borders.

A young Tanzanian boy is to return home on 18 May 2025 after 10 long years of being separated from his family. He had lived in South Africa from the age of three, with much of the time spent in vulnerable conditions.

The reunification of the child is the culmination of government intervention and cross-border collaboration. And, fittingly, comes shortly after the launch of Child Protection Month, which was launched by Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe in Thaba Nchu in the Free State under the theme “Working together in ending violence against children”.

These repatriations and the data shared during Child Protection Month reinforce the urgent call to protect children 365 days of the year.

The Gauteng Department of Social Development has secured a court order to repatriate and reunite 13-year-old Simon Zulu-Juma* with his family in Tanzania.

On Thursday, 8 May 2025, the Nigel Magistrate’s Court granted the department’s request for Zulu-Juma’s repatriation.

The joyful outcome was delivered by Magistrate Kovilan Archery in the presence of the dedicated social workers handling his case, Dimakatso Matshomo and Smangele Ntshangase.

Zulu-Juma, who arrived in South Africa at just three years old, had been living in vulnerable conditions following the death of his grandmother, his only guardian at the time.

After her passing, he was left in the care of unrelated adults who neither ensured his education nor protected his well-being.

Fortunately, he was eventually rescued and placed in the care of the department’s child protection services.

The social workers had their task cut out for them in tracking his relatives. Matshomo said: “We were able to trace his family through people who had known his grandmother.”

A critical step in the process was confirming Zulu-Juma’s biological connection with his father in Tanzania.

The Tanzanian High Commission facilitated the DNA tests required, arranging for the young boy’s father to travel to South Africa and covering all associated costs. The results confirmed their relationship, paving the way for Zulu-Juma’s return home.

Both Matshomo and Ntshangase highlighted the collaboration and teamwork that made this outcome possible. “This wasn’t an easy journey,” said Ntshangase.

“But with the support of all the departments involved, we fulfilled our mission. Simon has endured a great deal, but we’ve supported him every step of the way, and now, he’s smiling.”

It is the task of the Department of Social Development to protect and care for all the children within South Africa. This is spelt out clearly in the Constitution, with Section 28 (1) setting out the rights of children concerning appropriate care, including basic nutrition, shelter, health care services, and social services.

South Africa’s National Child Care and Protection Policy commits to securing a continuum of care and protection services that respond to the needs and circumstances of children and their families.

It notes that in particular, children who fall through the safety nets and who do not have parents or caregivers and who are exposed to violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation are “entitled to responsive services to protect them from harm and to return them to a family environment where they may receive the nurturing care and protection they need to develop to their full potential”.

In her address at the launch of Child Protection Month on Sunday, 11 May 2025, Minister Tolashe expressed the country’s deep concern over the alarming levels of violence against children.

For the 2024/25 financial year, a total of 26 852 cases of child abuse and neglect were reported nationally, with sexual abuse the most prevalent form of abuse, with 9 859 cases reported across all provinces. This was followed by 9 485 cases of deliberate neglect, 3 965 cases of physical abuse, and 595 cases of child abandonment.