Elderly Cape couple arrested after alleged attempt to buy child in Table View
CAPE TOWN – A 75-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman have been arrested in Melkbosstrand after they allegedly approached a babysitter and offered money for a young child in her care in Table View, Cape Town.
The couple were taken into custody on Tuesday afternoon after police issued an all-points bulletin and began searching for a vehicle matching the description given in the complaint. They now face charges of human trafficking and attempted kidnapping.
The incident began when the elderly couple allegedly approached a nanny who was minding a child in Table View and offered to buy the child. The complaint was reported to police, who immediately circulated details of the suspects and their vehicle to units in the area.
At about 2.30pm, officers located the car in Melkbosstrand and arrested the pair. Police have not released the identity or age of the child, and no information has been given about the child's current condition beyond the fact that the case was reported and an investigation opened.
Western Cape police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut confirmed the arrests and described the case as a human-trafficking and attempted-kidnapping investigation.
"SAPS can confirm the arrest of a 75-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman on charges of human trafficking and attempted kidnapping in Melkbosstrand on Tuesday at approximately 2.30pm."SAPS members responded to an all-points bulletin following an incident in Table View, where the suspects allegedly approached a babysitter and a young child and offered to buy the child."The incident was reported to police, prompting a search for the suspects. The search culminated in the couple being apprehended in Melkbosstrand."The investigation remains ongoing, and further information may be released as the investigation progresses and circumstances are clarified."
The arrests have placed renewed attention on the danger faced by children who are left in the care of others, as well as on the many forms that child trafficking can take. In this case, the alleged approach was direct and happened in a public suburban setting. The police account indicates that the report from the babysitter led to a rapid response, an all-points bulletin and the eventual arrest of both suspects within the same afternoon.
The case comes just days after another child-protection investigation in Cape Town, where an 11-year-old girl from the Masincedane informal settlement in Strandfontein was at the centre of a police case involving rape and sexual exploitation. Two suspects, aged 20 and 47, appeared in the Mitchells Plain Magistrates' Court on August 11, 2026, and were remanded in custody for a formal bail application.
Police described that matter as a rape and sexual exploitation case involving an 11-year-old girl. The child's parents were arrested, although the mother was later released, while a man believed to have paid for access to the girl was also arrested. Residents had raised concerns after claims that the girl had been offered for sex for R100 and that other minor children were living in the household.
Provincial police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg said: "In response to your media enquiry, kindly be advised that the mentioned case is a rape and sexual exploitation case involving an 11-year-old girl. The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation."
He later confirmed: "We can confirm that two suspects aged 20 and 47 appeared in the Mitchell's Plain Magistrates' Court today, August 11, 2026, where they were remanded in custody for a formal bail application."
The Strandfontein case also brought community protection structures into the response. Strandfontein Community Policing Forum chairperson Sandy Schuter said the safety of children required immediate action from residents, police, social workers and community leaders.
"When this recent, devastating case was brought to my attention, I refused to let go until everyone involved was arrested before the sunset. Justice for our children is non-negotiable, and swift action is the only acceptable standard. Crimes committed against our children do not just injure an individual; they strike at the very heart and soul of our community," Schuter said.
She added: "Every offense against a child is a profound indictment of our society, threatening our future and leaving a collective scar on the resilience of the entire community.
"We cannot afford to look away, nor can we wait for tragedy to strike before we mobilise. We have a responsibility to act: parents, residents, community leaders, and our social services and safety agencies alike."
The two Cape Town cases are different in their circumstances, but both involve children allegedly being treated as objects of exchange or exploitation. In Table View, police say the suspects offered to buy a child from a babysitter. In Strandfontein, police opened a case after reports that an 11-year-old girl had been sexually exploited for money.
The wider national figures show the scale of the child-protection challenge. Statistics released for the first 3 quarters of the 2025/26 financial year recorded 8,984 cases of child abuse on the National Child Protection Register, including 3,258 cases of sexual abuse. The figures were released as the government launched its 2026 Child Protection Month campaign under the theme "Working together in ending violence against children".
The campaign says children continue to face abuse, neglect, exploitation and harm in homes, schools, communities and digital spaces. It calls for closer cooperation between government departments, civil-society organisations, non-governmental organisations, families and community structures.
South Africa's anti-trafficking efforts have also faced serious pressure. The 2025 Trafficking in Persons assessment recorded that the country investigated 13 trafficking cases during the reporting period, compared with 156 in the previous period. Authorities initiated prosecutions against 57 suspects and continued prosecuting 148 suspects from earlier periods. The government reported 27 trafficking convictions, with sentences ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment.
The same assessment recorded that 234 trafficking victims were identified and referred for care: 7 in labour trafficking, 66 in sex trafficking and 161 in unspecified forms of trafficking. It also identified gaps in victim screening, police training, coordination between agencies and access to timely shelter and support.
South Africa's Department of Justice has previously said trafficking may involve sexual exploitation, forced labour, illegal adoption, organ trafficking, forced marriage, debt bondage and forced criminality. Children can be targeted for sexual exploitation or labour exploitation, while poverty, unemployment, inequality and gender-based violence can increase vulnerability.
In a statement marking World Day Against Trafficking in Persons in 2025, Deputy Justice Minister Nel said: "Trafficking in persons is one of the most devastating violations of human rights – it is also notoriously under-reported."
The statement added: "It takes many insidious forms, each involving exploitation through force, fraud, or coercion. It can be sex trafficking, labour trafficking, forms of child trafficking, forced labour, illegal adoption, organ trafficking, forced marriage, debt bondage and forced criminality. It strips victims of their autonomy and human dignity."
The department said 234 identified trafficking victims had been rescued and assisted during the 2024/25 financial year. It also reported 32 new trafficking prosecutions involving 57 accused people, 67 ongoing cases involving 156 accused people and 428 charges, and 23 cases finalised with verdicts.
The conviction of 3 people in the Joshlin Smith case remains one of the country's most prominent recent child-trafficking cases. Joshlin, who was 6 when she disappeared from Saldanha Bay in 2024, was found by the High Court to have been sold for slavery or practices similar to slavery. In May 2025, the 3 convicted perpetrators received life sentences for human trafficking and 10 years for kidnapping.
The case in Melkbosstrand now places another alleged attempt to obtain a child before the courts. Police have not said whether the arrested couple knew the child or the babysitter, how much money was allegedly offered, or what they intended to do with the child. Those questions are expected to form part of the investigation.
The police response, however, was clear: a complaint from the babysitter triggered an urgent search, and officers located the suspects several kilometres away in Melkbosstrand. The couple remain in police custody while investigators establish the full circumstances of the alleged approach and prepare the case for the next stage.
Police have urged anyone with information about trafficking, child exploitation or suspicious attempts to remove a child from a caregiver to report it immediately. The national anti-trafficking hotline is 0800 222 777, while the GBV Command toll-free number is 0800 428 428. In emergencies, members of the public can contact the police on 10111.
For the Table View babysitter, the report to police set the investigation in motion. For the child involved, the case has placed an alleged attempt to purchase a minor under the attention of detectives, who are now working to establish exactly what happened before the couple were intercepted in Melkbosstrand.
