Freed South African remains languishing in Thailand Jail
South African Home Affairs has been accused of dragging its feet for two weeks, leaving a freed South African to languish at a Thailand detention centre.
Thando Pendu, who the Thai government granted amnesty to and released from jail, has been forced to remain in Bangkok’s International Detention Centre because the South African department is dragging its feet in confirming her citizenship to the Thai authorities.
This proof of citizenship was required because Pendu’s passport expired last year.
Pendu, a 33-year-old from Welkom in the Free State, is a beneficiary of a general amnesty that Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn granted to thousands of prisoners last month.
The amnesty cut short Pendu’s 25-year sentence for drug smuggling. She had been in Bangkok’s Klong Prem prison since 2008 after being caught with 2kg of heroin strapped to her chest.
Previous media reports indicated that Pendu was lured to Thailand by a woman who knew her mother.
She reportedly learnt on arrival that there was no job for her, but she had instead been tricked into working for a drug trafficking syndicate.
The drugs found in Pendu’s possession were allegedly destined for China. Then 25 years old, Pendu never made it out of Thailand.
Speaking from Bangkok on Wednesday, Henk Vanstaen – a retired scientist who campaigns for the rights of South Africans jailed in Thailand – said money to buy Pendu’s one-way ticket was ready.
But she cannot leave the detention centre, thanks to what Vanstaen described as shoddy work by Home Affairs’ desk in the Bangkok embassy.
The Thai government wanted documentation proving Pendu’s citizenship before she could leave, he said.
Home Affairs denied being the reason for Pendu’s inability to leave the detention centre. Spokesperson David Hlabane said no request had been brought to the department to confirm her citizenship.
“According to our National Population Register, Pendu is a South African citizen,” said Hlabane.
“She was issued with a passport on May 12, 2008, which expired on May 11, 2018. The Department of Home Affairs has not received a request to clarify her citizenship, save for media enquiries.”
Pendu, identified more as a victim of human trafficking than a drug trafficker, was one of 14 South Africans jailed in Thailand for drug- related crimes. These were nine women and five men.
The International Relations Department revealed last year that approximately 800 South Africans were incarcerated in foreign jails.
