Justicia Shipena
The Ministry of International Relations and Trade (MIRT) says it is aware of reports that young Namibians have been trafficked to Myanmar.
The confirmation follows a revelation by a member of parliament and Affirmative Repositioning (AR) movement leader Job Amupanda that six young Namibians were trafficked out of the country and are currently being held in Myanmar.
The Windhoek Observer approached the ministry for comment and MIRT confirmed awareness of the situation.
MIRT spokesperson Rosalia Uushona said the ministry has received the report and will respond to the Windhoek Observer with more information today. She did not provide further details at the time.
Amupanda said the six youths were taken to Asia and trafficked to Myanmar, where they are being held by the Myanmar military near Shwe Kokko Park, close to the Thailand border.
The area is widely known as a hub for organised crime.
He identified the youths as 22-year-old Tequisha Candice Samuels from Swakopmund, 24-year-old Helena Ndamonghenda Nghifikwa from Windhoek, 26-year-old David Simataa Kamwi from Katima Mulilo, 29-year-old Julia Ndevasheka Shityeni from Epalela, 31-year-old Immanuel Haufiku from Ohakadu, and 34-year-old Ananias Shaanika from Windhoek.
He said all six are alive and that his investigative unit, Eagle 25, has established contact with them.
He accused the government of remaining silent and failing to act to secure their release and safe return.
He described the situation as a failure of diplomacy and called on authorities to take urgent steps to bring the youths home.
The Namibian police also confirmed awareness of the case.
“The police is aware and is working in collaboration with MIRT, GRN. Efforts are indeed ongoing,” said police spokesperson deputy commissioner Kauna Shikwambi on Monday.
At the beginning of July last year, the Windhoek Observer reported that six Namibian nationals were repatriated from Southeast Asia after being trafficked between June 2024 and June 2025.
Five of the victims were from Myanmar and one from Laos. Their return followed coordination between Namibian authorities and international partners.
The matter was shared by the minister of international relations and trade, Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, during the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons commemoration held in Rundu, Kavango East region.
In September, the deputy director for immigration and border control in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, Chrispin Kamwi, said a total of 706 human trafficking cases were reported in Namibia in 2025. Of these, 36 were confirmed and 680 were classified as high-risk.
Trafficking for forced criminality has emerged as a growing trend in Southeast Asia, where criminal syndicates run large-scale online scam centres.
Myanmar passed an anti-trafficking law in 2005, but trafficking remains widespread, especially in conflict-affected northern regions bordering China.
In February last year, 260 people from 19 countries working in online scamming operations in Myawaddy, Myanmar, were released by an ethnic armed militia group and handed over to Thai authorities in Mae Sot, Thailand.
The scamming complexes are linked to severe abuse, including constant surveillance, threats, and physical punishment. A total of 258 of those freed were identified as victims of human trafficking.
In April last year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) appealed for USD 2.5 million, about N$42 million, to support the safe return and reintegration of around 1 000 presumed victims of trafficking for forced criminality.
These individuals had been stranded along the Thai-Myanmar border since February 2025 after escaping cyber scamming compounds in Myanmar.
At the time, IOM said its staff were assisting Ghanaian and Namibian nationals who had been waiting months for safe passage home.
In 2024, IOM supported the voluntary return of 316 trafficking victims rescued from scam centres.
