Norest Maruma (31) will spend 20 years in jail for facilitating the trafficking of five Zimbabwean women to Kuwait where they were turned into slaves and prostitutes.
In December last year, Maruma was convicted on five counts of contravening the Trafficking in Persons Act by magistrate Mr Lazini Ncube who could not pass sentence because his jurisdiction is limited. As a result Ncube referred the matter to the High Court for sentencing where Justice Tawanda Chitapi sentenced her to a combined 50 years in jail after sentencing her to 10 years in prison on each count. However, counts one to three are to run concurrently as well as four and five which are also going to run concurrently, leaving her with a 20-year jail term.
Maruma is the first person to be sent to jail in the Kuwait human trafficking saga that left several Zimbabwean women stranded in March 2016 after being lured to the Middle East country on the pretext that they were going to be offered lucrative jobs. Maruma acted as a local agent.
More: Herald
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