Two Nigerians brothers have been jailed for human trafficking by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, South Africa.
Obioma Benjamin Abba, 32 was sentenced to an effective 12 years imprisonment, while his brother and the mastermind, Chinedu Justine Obasi, 38, was sentenced to an effective 18 years imprisonment.
The two ran a brothel in Arcadia, a suburb in Pretoria according to report by South African media.
Although the legislature called for life imprisonment in cases where people are convicted of human trafficking, Judge Ronel Tolmay found that there were mitigating factors in this case.
It included that the brothers were first offenders and that they had spent more than two years in jail, awaiting trial.
The judge also said although the two women who worked as prostitutes for the brothers were exposed to a lot of trauma, they were already in the sex trade and hooked on drugs when they were recruited by the brothers.
But the judge, on the other hand, said the brothers kept the women captive in the flat in Arcadia, from where they had to work as prostitutes.
Judge Tolmay said the fact that a life sentence was mandatory in these cases if there were no mitigating factors, proved how adamant the legislator is to eradicate crimes of human trafficking.
Two prostitutes earlier told the court of their harrowing life on the streets, while their pimps kept them hooked on drugs.
Both had turned a new leaf, although they told the court they still got nightmares and flashbacks from their life on the streets.
