Mvumeleni Jezile thought the 14-year-old girl he abducted, married and repeatedly raped would become the makhoti (bride) of his dreams. He was terribly mistaken.
Jezile, 32, was sentenced to an effective 22 years behind bars for human trafficking, rape and assault yesterday by Magistrate Dalene Greyvenstein in the Wynberg Regional Court, in Cape Town.
It was the harshest sentence imposed in this country for human trafficking.
It was also the first ukuthwala case in the province.
In 2011, a man was sentenced to seven years behind bars for human trafficking in the Lusikisiki Regional Court, in Eastern Cape.
Said Greyvenstein: "It is an intolerable rape, trafficking and assault of a child conducted under the guise of culture and religion."
In ukuthwala, a woman is abducted and forced into marriage discussions.
Greyvenstein said that when the girl was forced to marry him, in 2010, Jezile did not bargain on her being a "resilient" and "strong-willed" child who wanted to finish her schooling and marry for love.
The girl's uncle and grandmother had entered into negotiations with Jezile and his family. Lobola was set at R8000.
He brought her to Cape Town, and beat her when she refused to sleep with him.
"She was sold out by her own family. One day she walked around carefree. The next day she had a husband she did not know," said Greyvenstein.
"She was, in effect, nothing more than a modern-day slave. The emotional scars will remain forever."
The girl, now 18, finally sought the help of the police.
The National Prosecuting Authority welcomed the outcome of the prosecution.
Jezile's lawyer, Tammy Lendore, said his client was "a simple rural man" who had followed the tradition of an arranged marriage and his involvement with the girl should not be classified as ukuthwala.
"He never in his life imagined that by conducting a traditional marriage he would end up in a world of trouble," said Lendore.
The court heard that today the woman has trouble sleeping, fears men and has become reclusive.
Phathekile Holomisa, a Xhosa chief and MP, said that by customary law the girl had been too young to marry.
"The fact that she didn't agree to the marriage nullifies anything he did or any of the negotiations."
The woman has since moved back to Eastern Cape.
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