South Africa discovers 90 Ethiopians locked in house, arrests two

South African police discovered 90 Ethiopians packed into locked rooms in inhuman conditions at the weekend, a spokesman said Monday, and arrested two suspects on allegations of kidnapping and human trafficking.

Police found the Ethiopians in a house in Johannesburg on Saturday as they were searching for a man who had been kidnapped for ransom earlier in the week, a police spokesman told AFP.

Officers “rescued 90 undocumented Ethiopian nationals who were allegedly being kept against their will and under inhuman conditions,” a statement said.

They were “found locked up, confined and packed into rooms.” They were taken to a medical facility.

The man who had been kidnapped was among the group. Kidnappers had demanded thousands of rands in ransom for his release.

Police arrested two suspects, who were expected to face charges of kidnapping and human trafficking.

Despite South Africa’s lacklustre economic growth, as the continent’s most industrialised nation, it attracts millions of migrants, mainly from other African countries.

Many come from Malawi, Lesotho and the Horn of Africa, but most are from Zimbabwe.

Last September, around 102 undocumented foreign nationals, most of them Ethiopians and some as young as 10 years old, were found in a house in the east of Johannesburg.

According to then home affairs minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, they were brought to South Africa to operate general stores around the country.