Cape Town – The Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court sentenced a Nigerian national to five life imprisonment terms plus five years on Wednesday.
The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
Peter Akadoronge, 37, was convicted on three counts of human trafficking, two counts of rapes of adults that happened more than once and one count of assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, following an incident that happened in Thohoyandou on November 26, 2017.
The court heard three women went in search of employment when they were approached by three Nigerian men who offered them employment.
One of the women suggested speaking about the job offer at a nearby nightclub.
The men bought the women drinks and after consuming the alcohol, the women became conscious and after regaining consciousness they found themselves in an unknown place.
The women testified in court that they found themselves in a room with two unknown women. The room had no windows and only one mattress on the floor.
The unknown women informed the three that they were in Rosettenville in Johannesburg.
The court heard the men later entered the room and removed the women from the room and told them they had found the jobs they were looking for – referring to prostitution.
The women told the men they were not going to sell their bodies.
It was after their refusal of prostitution that the men started assaulting them and told them to remove their clothing.
The women further testified they were raped as an induction to teach them their newly found job.
The women testified they were forced to take drugs on a daily basis while being held against their will.
Different men were brought to have sex with them and after intercourse paid the men.
The women told the court if they refused to have sex with these men they would be assaulted and deprived of food.
As time went by, the women managed to gain the trust of their captors and at times the men would leave them unsupervised in the yard.
On May 9, 2018, the women managed to escape captivity and stopped a vehicle which took them to the Moffat View police station.
The court heard the police’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit took them to a help centre for counselling, examination by doctors and for treatment for drug addiction.
The following day police went in search for the men in Rosettenville and the women managed to point out Akadoronge, who was found standing next to a street light beside eight other men.
“Women have a legitimate claim to walk freely in our streets without fear of being abducted. The courts must remove people that are of danger to society out of circulation for very long periods to send a clear message that our justice system frowns upon such inhumane acts,” Magistrate Simon Radasi said.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL