A woman who tricked nine unsuspecting job seekers into believing she could facilitate them with well-paying jobs in Dubai before transporting them to Oman where they were effectively enslaved has been found guilty of human trafficking.
Caroline Ziyanga (42) is now awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of nine counts of trafficking in persons after a full trial before Harare Regional Magistrate Mr. Stanford Mambangi.
Prosecutor Mr. Oscar Madum told the court that Zianga was the first offender who was working in collaboration with Hamida, the main player in the commission of the crime.
Mr Madhumi said there was a need for the State to conduct an investigation into the special circumstances to check whether the court could impose the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.
Mr. Madum established that at some point in January 2022, Ziyanga acted in collusion with Hamida to traffic women to Oman for the purposes of enslavement and sexual exploitation.
I advertised non-existent lucrative jobs in Dubai through friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbours.
The complainants were referred to her because she was known to help people get work in Dubai where she claimed they would receive a salary of US$800 per month.
She also told the complainants about good working conditions including free accommodation, vacation and adequate food.
Based on this misrepresentation, the complainants accepted the offer because the deal seemed profitable.
Ziyanga and her partner Hamida processed the visas and air tickets for the destination Amman instead of Dubai.
The complainants were then sold to their alleged employers before leaving Zimbabwe.
The complainants realized that they had been deceived upon their arrival in Amman and their passports had been confiscated.
They were then forced to start working as domestic servants instead of nurses’ assistants and were subjected to inhumane treatment.
The court heard that the complainants were sleeping after midnight, were not given enough food and were deprived of freedom of movement.
They were not given enough time to rest, and some were subjected to sexual assault. Efforts to contact Zianga and Hamida were unsuccessful.
Eventually, one of the complainants gained access to the phone and called her brother, who resides in South Africa, who informed the authorities in Zimbabwe, leading to Ziyanga’s arrest.
The government intervened by sending a ministerial committee to combat human trafficking, which facilitated their return to Zimbabwe. Announce
