Human trafficker sentenced to 45 years in jail

A man who was found guilty of human trafficking and manufacturing and possession of child pornography was handed down a hefty sentence in the Pretoria High Court on Friday.

Hawks regional spokesperson Brigadier Nomthandazo Mbambo said that the suspect, Alaba Makonjuola Asabi, 38 had been arrested after an investigation by the Hawks Human Trafficking Unit.  

“This follows an incident in 2018 where a case of Human C300 trafficking was opened, which culminated in the arrest of a Nigerian male and the rescue of two Zimbabwean females who were victims used as commercial sex workers,” Mbambo said.

“The accused controlled the victims by locking them in a private dwelling. This took place over a period two years before they were rescued in 2018,” Mbambo said.

Mbambo said that the water tight police investigation had ensured the conviction of  Alaba Makonjuola Asabi, 38, who had earlier been found guilty of two counts of human trafficking and for the possession and manufacturing of child pornography. He was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment for human trafficking and to a further ten years in jail for the other crimes.

He was also convicted of a charge of using the services of a victim for which he was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

“He is to serve an effective total of 45 years direct imprisonment,” Mbambo said.

The victims were successfully repatriated to their country of origin.

“The accused was declared a prohibited person in the Republic of South Africa (sec 29 of immigration Act 13 of 2002. The judge also ordered that the accused’s particulars be included in the National Register for sex offenders in terms of section 50 of the criminal law amendment Act,” Mbambo said.

This successful conviction and sentencing of Asabi and the rescue of his victims should give hope to many victims who are still entrapped in similar criminal conditions.