A South African court has sentenced two Nigerian women and their South African accomplice to prison for running a brothel used in trafficking young girls into sex slavery.
The convicts — Patience Precious Abudu (35), Success Egabor (42), and Nontobeko Mathunjwa (36) — were sentenced by the Plettenberg Bay Regional Court on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, after pleading guilty to charges bordering on human trafficking, operating a brothel, and living off the proceeds of prostitution.
Their sentencing followed a sting operation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), with support from South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs. The suspects were arrested between December 2023 and May 2024.
Provincial Hawks spokesperson, Warrant Officer Zinzi Hani, confirmed that the women had been under surveillance before their arrest.
“On December 16, 2023, two young Nigerian girls were rescued from a brothel in George, Western Cape. Investigations revealed they were trafficked into South Africa.
The accused have been in custody since their arrest and were finally convicted this week,” Hani said.
Abudu was handed multiple sentences:
R6,000 fine or three years’ imprisonment for living off earnings of prostitution;
R6,000 fine or three years’ imprisonment for running a brothel;
R1,000 fine or six months’ imprisonment for contravening the Immigration Act.
She was also ordered to compensate each victim with R20,000.
Egabor received a similar sentence and must also pay R17,000 to one of the rescued victims.
Mathunjwa, the South African national, was fined R6,000 or three years’ imprisonment for living off prostitution earnings, plus R1,000 or six months’ imprisonment for brothel operations. She must also pay R18,000 compensation to one victim.
Although the women initially faced additional charges of trafficking in persons, debt bondage, procuring prostitution, and confiscation of victims’ travel documents, those were withdrawn as part of their plea deal.
The court further ordered the deportation of Abudu and Egabor to Nigeria after serving their terms.
The case is one of several ongoing investigations into cross-border human trafficking in South Africa, where Nigerian syndicates have been repeatedly linked to the exploitation of vulnerable young women.
Authorities say more raids are expected as security agencies intensify efforts to dismantle trafficking networks operating within the country.
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