A high court in Gqeberha has sentenced three older people, ages 66 to 68, to several years in prison for human trafficking and forcibly marrying a juvenile.
Following the arranged marriage of a 13-year-old girl with a mental disability, Bheki Nxasana, Mxosheni Sibiya, and Nomvo Nxasana were also added to the national sex offender registry and the national child protection registry.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) asserts that Bheki married the teenager against her will.
Luxolo Tyali, a spokeswoman for the NPA, stated that the victim was an orphan who resided with her uncle Sibiya in KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal. Later, Sibiya brought the adolescent to her Sunday school instructor, who was friends with Nomvo, the sister of the prospective spouse.
“In 2016, Bheki initiated lobola negotiations with Sibiya with the support of Nomvo, and payments were made. “The girl was forced to take a taxi to Gqeberha,” stated Tyali.
“When the victim arrived at her destination, Bheki took her to his residence, where he strangled and sexually assaulted her. He informed her that he was her husband and had paid lobola for her, thus she was required to comply with his requests.
“The adolescent was dressed in the traditional makoti clothes of a newlywed woman and given a new name to reflect her new status. She was brought to Bheki’s house in Mbizana and forced to work as a makoti.”
Tyali elaborated: “The victim escaped from Bheki with the help of his 20-year-old daughter and elder stepdaughter, who supported her in reporting the incident to the police on April 24, 2017, leading to his arrest.
“During the trial, all of the defendants claimed that they did not know the girl’s age when they entered her into a traditional marriage and that they were unaware that they were acting illegally.
The court condemned Bheki, who was forced to marry the victim, to 18 years and 15 years for rape, respectively.
“They were further sentenced to a total of nine years in prison, of which four years were suspended for three years, and six years in prison, of which two years were suspended for three years, on a charge of trafficking in persons for entering into a forced marriage for exploitation.”
»Child trafficking carries severe prison sentences for the elderly«