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NEWS
Body parts trafficking saga




By Temba Dube 

SCHOOLS in Bulawayo have made it mandatory for parents to escort their children to and from school as the panic caused by rumours about human body parts trafficking continues to spread in the city.

The schools, which include Milton Junior, Baines Infant School, Fusi Primary School in Gwabalanda and Mtshane Primary in Nkulumane, announced last week that all pupils should be accompanied by their parents or guardians every time they go to school. The Milton Junior School Development Committee issued a circular to parents last week, strongly advising parents to ensure that their children were always in the company of an adult when they came to school and when they knock off.
“We have been to the police and they have said there is no clear evidence linking a syndicate to the rumours of child abductions. However, as SDC, we must be extra cautious. Starting forthwith all children must be collected by their parents or guardians,” read part of the circular dated 29 June.
The circular warned parents against leaving their children to walk alone in the city centre to board kombis, adding that the measures were for the safety of everyone “in case the rumour is not a rumour but something that is actually happening”. 
A number of parents said their children told them last week that their schools had banned unaccompanied children from attending lessons.
“My son who attends school at Mtshane Primary said the school head announced on Thursday last week that all children should be brought to school by adults who would also collect them when they knock off,” said Mrs Mavis Moyo of Nkulumane.
The gruesome tales of children being kidnapped and beheaded for ritual purposes have frightened some parents so much that some opt for their children to miss lessons if there is no one to accompany them.
“This whole week, my three children will not go to school because I cannot ensure their safety as I am attending a funeral,” said Mrs Thoko Moyo at a funeral wake in Four Winds suburb last week.
A teacher at Fusi Primary School, who asked not to be named, said since the stories started, the number of children missing lessons had increased.
“We are experiencing a significant increase in cases of absenteeism and we think it is because parents fear for the safety of their children,” said the teacher.
Police have, however, repeatedly refuted the stories of child murders, saying there was no truth in them. 
The police spokesperson for Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Inspector Mandlenkosi Moyo, was recently quoted in the Press saying the stories were unfounded. 
“Human trafficking and human body parts trade exists but in Zimbabwe we have no such incidents. It’s all rumours, no one has ever come forward with such a report and on that basis alone, we cannot carry out an investigation,” he said.
The stories started when police officers went around schools last month, just before the 2010 Fifa World Cup kicked off, warning children about the dangers of speaking to strangers.
Insp Moyo said the routine exercise was carried out because police expected an increase in crime with the influx of people for the World Cup.