Underage boys who resurfaced from the mine at Stilfontein in North West will be repatriated back to their home country in Mozambique today. 

REPATRIATION 

North West Department of Social Development spokesperson Matong Podile said the 27 teenage boys resurfaced from Stilfontein unused mines more than a month ago. "Among the 27 undocumented children, 15 were found by the police in Matlosana and 12 others resurfaced from the abandoned mines and were placed in temporary safe care in the capital, Mahikeng, for two weeks," Podile said. She added that after resurfacing, the minors were placed in temporary safe care by the department in line with the provisions of the Children Act, which mandates social workers or police officials to remove a child who is in danger and place them in temporary safe care.

ORDERED BY THE COURT

Podile said the social workers managing the case will repatriate the children to the Lebombo border with a police escort after they got permission from the court to release them from their place of safety. "The court allowed the social workers to repatriate them and hand them over to their counterparts in Mozambique, who will then reunify the children with their parents," she said, adding that this was made possible after the Mozambican Consulate issued them with temporary travel documents and allowed a care-to-care process between the social development departments in the two countries. "The children will be handed over to social workers at the Lebombo border today. MEC for Social Development Basetsana Sussana Dantjie has expressed profound thanks to her departmental team led by acting Head of Department Dr Fezile Ngqobe for arranging temporary safe care for children and also working around the clock to repatriate the children to their original country."