Publications
- A Mozambican man was sentenced to 22 years behind bars for kidnapping a teenager in Mozambique and bringing her to South Africa.
- She was kept as his "second wife", raped twice and exposed to sexual acts between the man and his wife.
- She managed to escape and the man was arrested.
A Mozambican man has been sentenced to 22 years' imprisonment by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria for kidnapping a 14-year-old girl from Mozambique and raping her.
Angelo Mulambo, 30, was found guilty of human trafficking, rape, kidnapping and assisting a person to be in South Africa illegally.
According to Lumka Mahanjana, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, the victim was on her way to school in 2017 when she met with her neighbour, who took her to the Mulambo family home.
"This was under the pretence that she was getting her a babysitting job as she was staying with and depended on her grandmother after her mother died. On her arrival, she was told she was Mulambo's second wife and taken to his room, where she stayed and shared a bed with him," Mahanjana said.
Brought to South Africa 'illegally'
"A few days later, Mulambo brought her to South Africa illegally, and [she] stayed in a shack in Mamelodi East together with his first wife. There she shared a bed with Mulambo and his first wife, and was exposed to sexual acts between the couple. Mulambo raped her twice, including anally, on both occasions."
In the early hours of the morning of 7 September 2017, she managed to escape to a neighbour's house. The neighbours called the police and Mulambo was arrested and has been in custody since.
Advocate Andrew Mphaga, the prosecutor in the case, said human trafficking was an international problem. He said the offences committed were of a serious nature and had affected the victim both physically and psychologically. Therefore, it was in the interest of society to have peaceful communities free of sexual offences and human trafficking, he said.
Judge Pierre Rabie commended the work of the Thuthuzela Care Centre, which took care of the minor until she was reconciled with her family in December 2019.
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