Minor abused and detained by South African Airways Lilongwe Staff

<p>My daughter Tinotenda Simata was refused entry by OR Tambo Immigration yesterday as the mother could not be contacted in time to confirm her consent for the travel and she was subsequently flow back to Malawi. She was told by SAA officials at ORTIA that she had no obligation to purchase a return ticket at the time.</p> <p>On arrival in Lilongwe, South Africa Airways (Naomi) threatened to detain her and forcibly took her passport saying that she had to pay South Africa Airways first. I spoke to Gwaza (Team Leader) about this and he indicated that this was indeed in line with SAA policy not only to detain minors but forcibly withheld their documentation until payment has been made in hard cash as they do not accept cheque (most common mode in Malawi) nor bank cards.</p>