PINETOWN -The Pinetown Regional Court in KwaZulu-Natal has sentenced a Nigerian man, Ifeanyi Ifeanacho, to life imprisonment, and his co-accused, a South African woman, Mapule Rosina Tshibangila (35), to 15 years’ imprisonment. Sentences were handed down on Monday in a brothel-running case that stemmed from their arrest in September 2022.
The pair were convicted in August of multiple charges. The charges include trafficking in persons, kidnapping, keeping a brothel, procuring a female for prostitution, living on the earnings of prostitution, being occupiers of premises used for the defilement of a female, and money laundering. Tshibangile and Ifeanacho conviction and sentencing followed in-depth investigations by the Hawks.
In a statement, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa in KwaZulu-Natal, said Ifeanacho was additionally convicted on two counts of rape, one count of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (assault GBH), and contravention of the Immigration Act – being illegally in the country. Tshibangila was convicted on one count of rape (for enabling an environment in which the complainant could be raped).
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Ifeanacho was sentenced as follows:
- Life imprisonment for trafficking in persons
- Life imprisonment each for the two counts of rape
- Three years’ imprisonment for kidnapping
- Five years’ imprisonment for assault GBH
- Three years’ imprisonment for keeping a brothel
- Seven years’ imprisonment for procurement of a female
- Three years’ imprisonment for defilement
- Five years’ imprisonment for living on the earnings of prostitution
- Five years’ imprisonment for money laundering
- 12 months’ imprisonment for contravention of the Immigration Act
Tshibangila was sentenced as follows:
- 15 years’ imprisonment for trafficking in persons
- Three years’ imprisonment for kidnapping
- 13 years’ imprisonment for rape
- Three years’ imprisonment for keeping a brothel
- Seven years’ imprisonment for procurement of a female
- Three years’ imprisonment for defilement
- Five years’ imprisonment for living on the earnings of prostitution
- Five years’ imprisonment for money laundering
Ramkisson-Kara said the court ordered that Ifeanacho serve an effective life imprisonment and Tshibangila serve 15 years’ imprisonment. “In sentencing Tshibangila for trafficking in persons, the court deviated from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment. It found that she had played a lesser role in committing the offence and acted under the instructions of Ifeanacho,” she explained.
Ramkisson-Kara said both accused were declared unfit to possess a firearm and unsuitable to work with children. “Further, the court ordered that their names be entered into the National Register for Sex Offenders,” she said.
Evidence presented before the court revealed collusion in the modus operandi: Tshibangila served as the logistics coordinator, luring women from Johannesburg with false promises of employment opportunities. The pairs convictions and sentencing were based on compelling evidence the Hawks gathered during in-depth investigations. Cellphone evidence and medical evidence also formed a part of the state’s case.
