A 66-year-old man who forcefully married and sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl with slight mental disability in the Eastern Cape was given an 18-year prison sentence.
The high court in Gqeberha found Bheki Nxasana, Mxhoseni Sibiya,67, and Nomvo Nxasana,68, guilty of trafficking in humans.
“Evidence is that the victim was orphaned and lived with ‘a relative’ in KwaDukuza in KwaZulu- Natal,’’ said regional National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali.
‘’The supposed relative gave her up to her Sunday school teacher who was friends with Nomvo, the sister of the would-be husband. Nomvo took her to her daughter who lived in Mbizana in the Eastern Cape, where Bheki, who worked in Gqeberha comes from.’’
Lobola discussions were initiated by Bheki with Nomvo’s support, and payments were made in 2016.
According to Tyali, Bheki took the victim to his house where he strangled and raped her. He then told her that he was her husband, so she had to do as she was told.
The teenager was made to dress in a newly married woman’s (makoti) traditional attire and given a new name for her new role. After a while she was taken to Bheki’s homestead in Mbizana, where she had to live and work as a makoti, – said Tyali.
In April 2017, the girl escaped and reported everything to the police.
18 years was handed down to Bheki Nxasana for two counts of rape while his accomplices will serve five years.
The trio’s names were also ordered to be added to the National Register for Sex Offenders and the National Child Protection Register by the court, which sentenced the trio last week.
