Five life sentences for suspect in human trafficking case

The Western Cape High Court has imposed a harsh sentence of five life sentences on a Cameroonian man, who was convicted along with his wife and cousin of trafficking Springbok women in the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape to work as sex slaves on the streets of Cape Town.

The Western Cape High Court has imposed a harsh prison sentence of five life sentences on a Cameroonian man convicted along with his wife and cousin of trafficking women from Springbok, the Northern Cape and the Eastern Cape as sex slaves the streets of the mother city.

Dramatic scenes played out in the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town this week as Edward Ayuk burst into tears in the dock as Judge Alma de Wet handed down the sentence.

Ayuk has been in custody with his cousin Yannick for more than seven years after being arrested by the Hawks in September 2017 for running a brothel in the suburb of Brooklyn, Cape Town.

The duo stood trial in November 2021 along with Ayuk’s estranged wife, Leandrew Williams, in what has been called the largest human trafficking case before a local court.

The trio were hit with more than 40 charges including rape, kidnapping, sexual assault and several other offenses for running a brothel in Milnerton.

During the massive trial, several women were transported from their hometowns to take the stand. They told the court about drug abuse, assault and the semantics of working on the streets of Cape Town.

Williams also took the stand in defense of herself and denied trafficking women from Springbok.

After the state closed its case, attorney Bash Sibda successfully argued for the acquittal of 27 charges against Yannick.

They were later found guilty of several other charges by De Wet and Williams was taken into custody after being released on bail several years earlier.

After they were convicted, Williams turned on the father of her children and confessed to beating and selling women, saying she too was a victim but was too scared to say anything.

In her comprehensive assessment, De Wet explained that she had analyzed all victim reports and the findings of social workers and explained that many of the victims were left traumatized after being treated like commodities.

She said that while she could find no compelling reasons to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence for Edward, it was clear that his cousin, Yannick, while resuming the brothel’s activities in Edward’s absence, had shown no violence towards the victims .

Highlighting the drug trafficking charges against Edward, De Wet said it was clear the victims’ use of crack cocaine was a tool used to enslave them.

“One of the first things Suspect 1 (Edward Ayuk) did was make them smoke rocks. This was an essential part of his tactics to manipulate, coerce and intimidate them into doing his bidding.”

De Wet said the victims had been stripped of their dignity and described their experiences as the “worst form of abuse”.

“The complainants were defenseless victims who suffered abuse in its worst form. They were treated like objects and stripped of their dignity as human beings. They were treated as commodities by the suspects because of their greed for money and power.”

The Act sentenced Edward to five life sentences for each count of human trafficking, 15 years for living off the proceeds of prostitution, 10 years for each count of kidnapping, 10 years for assault and a further 10 years for tampering with identity documents.

But the judge was interrupted when Edward broke down in tears in the dock as he refused to listen further.

“Jesus Christ! What have I done?” He was heard screaming as police tried to comfort him and convince him to return to the courtroom.

Williams received 20 years in prison for three counts of human trafficking, while Yannick received 20 years in prison for several counts of human trafficking using the services of a prostitute, kidnapping and other charges.

Williams was seen blowing kisses to her family in the public gallery as she shouted: “Did you bring the twak? Don’t worry, God is still alive.”