GEORGE, South Africa (BN24) — Two Nigerian women and a South African woman have been sentenced for operating a brothel and participating in human trafficking in George, a town in South Africa’s Western Cape province. The sentencing follows a months-long investigation led by the Hawks, South Africa’s elite crime-fighting unit.
Patience Precious Abudu, 35, Success Egabor, 42, and Nontobeko Mathunjwa, 36, were convicted on several charges including living off the earnings of prostitution, running a brothel, and immigration violations. All three pleaded guilty in the Plettenberg Bay Regional Court, where sentencing was handed down on Wednesday, September 10.
The case began in December 2023 when two young Nigerian girls were rescued from a brothel in a residential complex in George. Authorities later confirmed the victims had been trafficked into South Africa.
“The three were arrested between December 2023 and May 2024 and remained in custody until sentencing,” said Warrant Officer Zinzi Hani, spokesperson for the Hawks. The investigation was conducted by the Hawks’ Economic Protected Resources team in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs.
Abudu received three separate sentences: a fine of R6,000 or three years in prison for living off prostitution, another R6,000 fine or three years for operating a brothel, and a R1,000 fine or six months for violating immigration laws. She was also ordered to compensate each trafficking victim with R20,000.
Egabor received similar penalties, including fines totaling R13,000 and an order to compensate one victim R17,000.
Mathunjwa was fined R7,000 and ordered to pay R18,000 in compensation to one victim.
Several other serious charges — including trafficking in persons, debt bondage, procuring prostitution, and concealing travel documents — were withdrawn as part of the plea agreement.
The court also ordered the deportation of Abudu and Egabor following the completion of their sentences.
