In a landmark ruling, a couple has been handed lengthy prison sentences after being convicted of human trafficking and running a brothel. The Pretoria High Court sentenced Jude Ikenna Ijegulu, a 34-year-old Nigerian national, and his 29-year-old partner, Elizabeth Botes, from Centurion, Pretoria.
Ijegulu received two life terms for two counts of rape and an additional two years for residing in the country illegally. Additionally, the court mandated that his name be added to the National Register of segxwal Offenders.
According to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the couple ran a brothel in Centurion from November 2016 to September 2017. They kept two women captive, supplying them with drugs and subjecting them to physical and segxwal abuse. The women were forced to provide segxwal services to clients under threat and coercion.
Lumka Mahanjana, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Gauteng, expressed satisfaction with the court's decision. “We welcome the sentences. The court found that the couple violated the Human Trafficking Act. Ijegulu enslaved the two victims and fed them drugs,” Mahanjana stated.
The case highlights the severe penalties for human trafficking and segxwal exploitation in South Africa, as authorities continue to crack down on such heinous crimes.
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