Wednesday, 1 February, the Gqeberha High Court sentenced three elderly accused to direct imprisonment for their participation in the forced marriage of a “mildly mentally disabled” 13-year-old girl.
The defendants, 66-year-old Bheki Nxasana, 67-year-old Mxosheni Sibiya, and 68-year-old Nomvo Nxasana, planned the forced marriage of a young orphaned girl.
“According to the evidence, the victim was an orphan who lived with her uncle, Sibiya, in KwaDukuza, KwaZulu Natal. Her uncle handed her to her Sunday school instructor, who was pals with Nomvo, the sister of her intended spouse Bheki, according to a National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) official.
Nomvo delivered the girl to her daughter in Mbizana, Eastern Cape, where Bheki is also from. At the time, he was in Gqeberha for employment.
“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, according to the NPA.
When the victim arrived in Gqeberha, Bheki brought her to his home, choked her, and then sexually assaulted her.
Then, he disclosed that he was her spouse and had paid for her lobola. Bheki commanded her to comply with his wants and directives.
“The adolescent was dressed in the customary garb of a newlywed woman (makoti) and given a new name to reflect her new function. She was transferred to Bheki’s farm in Mbizana, where she was forced to live and work as a makoti.
“When she made friends with her peers, Bheki reprimanded her and ordered that she be returned to his Greenbushes home in Gqeberha, where he raped her again,” Tyali explained.
The victim escaped from Bheki with the assistance of the accused’s 20-year-old daughter and his stepdaughter who was older. The older women reported the incident to authorities on April 24, 2017, and Bheki was subsequently detained.
“During the trial, all of the defendants claimed that they did not know the girl’s age when they entered her into a customary marriage and that they did not realize they were acting illegally,” said an NPA spokesperson.
Advocate Zelda Swanepoel, who is currently the Deputy Director of Prosecutions in the Western Cape, contended that the victim’s suffering left her with permanent scars.
The prosecutor emphasized that the victim had lost her parents, her freedom, her dignity, her sense of self-worth, and her childhood. She, too, is impoverished.
The court concurred and emphasized the severity of her anguish during the verdict.
“All three were sentenced to 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 the purpose of exploitation,” the National Prosecuting Attorney (NPA) said.
Bheki was sentenced to 18 and 15 years in jail for two charges of aggravated rape. The judge ordered the sentences to be served concurrently.
As a result, Bheki will serve 18 years in prison, while Nomvo and Sibiya will spend five years behind bars.
In addition, the court ordered their identities to be placed to the National Register for Sexual Offenders and the National Child Protection Register.
»Pensioners convicted of 13-year-old girl trafficking, rape, and forced marriage«