Cape Town - A Springbok woman convicted of human trafficking has turned on her estranged husband, as she begged for a lighter sentence in the Western Cape High Court.
In a dramatic address before Judge Alma de Wet, Leandre Williams blasted her husband, Edward Ayuk, saying she too was a victim of the abuse, which State witnesses told the court they were subjected to.
The couple, alongside Edward’s cousin, Yannick, were accused of running a brothel in Brooklyn. They went on trial in November 2021 in what was dubbed “the biggest human trafficking case before a local court”.
The trio were slapped with more than 40 charges including rape, kidnapping, assault and various other offences.
During the mammoth trial, several of the women were transported from their home towns to take the stand.
They told the court of drug abuse, alleged beatings and the semantics of working on the streets of Cape Town.
Williams took the stand in her own defence, denying she had trafficked any women from Springbok.
After the State closed its case, defence lawyer advocate Bash Sibda successfully argued for acquittal on the 27 charges against Yannick.
They were later found guilty by Judge De Wet on various charges and Williams was taken into custody.
Taking the stand yesterday, Williams told the court that she was abused by Edward who would beat her for smoking cigarettes.
She said the beatings were so bad she would beg for her life but not even blood would deter him.
She claimed when she eventually left him and returned to her home town in Springbok, she still lived in fear as he would show up at any time and even assaulted her new boyfriend.
“I don’t understand the system of the police. They gave me a protection order. If it wasn’t for the day I fainted in a pool of my own blood (nothing would have been done).
“I reported it but they always said it was marriage fights. On that day my body was purple and blue and they could see the evidence.”
Williams said on one occasion, she was beaten with an iron object resulting in injuries to her left foot.
She was heard lashing out at her husband’s lawyer who accused her of making up stories to get a lighter sentence.
“I never thought I would be found guilty for a crime that Ayuk did. God gave me this chance to speak here today. I am not lying, you can go check the records at Maitland police station,” she said.
Williams also lashed out at the investigating officer, claiming she was offered 204 status but when she was charged alongside Ayuk, she refused to make the cop’s job easier.
mahira.duval@inl.co.za
Cape Argus