Two people who allegedly sold a 13-year-old girl into a marriage with a man old enough to be her grandfather – who allegedly raped her, beat her and told her what to wear – will stand trial in the Port Elizabeth High Court in March.
The two, together with the girl’s 61-year-old husband, are facing charges of human trafficking.
The husband is also facing charges of rape.
One of the accused is the teenager’s uncle, the other is the husband’s sister.
According to the indictment, the girl is mildly mentally disabled, with the mental capacity of a child of nine or 10.
“If she resisted [his sexual advances] or cried, he [the elderly husband] would beat her with his belt or hands,” it is alleged in court papers.
“She was not allowed to sit outside the house and he prescribed what clothes she may wear and who she may talk to.”
John Preller, a community activist who works with trafficking victims, said human trafficking was probably the third most practised crime across the globe.
“It is a huge problem but it is under-reported,” he said.
“Very few victims are identified and speak out.
“This is because of either fear or a sense of guilt.
“Often victims blame themselves and prefer people not to know what happened to them.”
Preller said those convicted of the crime should be handed life sentences coupled with hard labour, which would serve as a deterrent.
Dr Nokuzola Mndende, from the Icamagu Institute – an organisation that aims at developing a better understanding of African culture and spirituality – said she was shocked by the culture of human trafficking.
“It’s just inhumane. It’s wrong for any family member to play a significant role.
“They are driven by greed and cruelty,” Mndende said.
To eliminate the problem, Mndende said education in the form of a dialogue between politicians and members of the community was essential.
The child, whose mother died when she was nine, had gone to live with her uncle in KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal, in 2012.
In December 2014, while still staying with him, she had gone with a woman to visit her 63-year-old mother, who is the sister of the man the girl was eventually allegedly sold to.
A year later, in January 2015, the girl went to live with the 63-year-old woman’s daughter in Bizana, where she attended school.
The following year, the elderly woman’s brother from Greenbushes, on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth, entered into lobola negotiations with the girl’s uncle and, in November 2016, the child was allegedly told she would not return to school and would be married to the 61-year-old man.
The man’s sister allegedly facilitated the lobola payment, using her bank account.
The indictment does not indicate how much was paid for the child. The girl was then put on a bus to Port Elizabeth.
When she arrived at Njoli Square in Kwazakhele, the 61year-old man allegedly met her there and took her to his home in Greenbushes, where she was instructed to undress and get into bed.
When the girl resisted, he allegedly throttled her and forcefully had sex with her.
Between January and April 2017, the girl was allegedly ferried between Port Elizabeth, Durban and Bizana. When in Bizana, she was forced to live with her husband’s sister and “act as a daughter-in-law”, cooking and cleaning for her.
In April 2017, after the girl was caught speaking to a girl her own age, she was sent back to Port Elizabeth.
“When [she] spoke to a girl of her own age, [the adults] scolded her for speaking [to the girl] as she was a married woman and not allowed to talk to girls of her age,” the court papers say. On her arrival back in Port Elizabeth, the girl was taken back to the Greenbushes house, where she was allegedly raped several times.
She was eventually helped by another woman to escape and the case was reported to the police on April 24 2017.
The husband was arrested the next day.
The indictment does not identify the woman who helped her or say exactly how the girl escaped.
The man’s sister and the teenager’s uncle were arrested a few months later, in September 2017.
The three accused appeared in the Port Elizabeth High Court on Wednesday, when the trial date was set for March 11.
None of the accused have pleaded to the charges yet and are all out on bail.
State prosecutor advocate Zelda Swanepoel told the court that the state was ready to proceed with the trial.
The court documents do not say where the girl, who is now 15, is living currently.