I Was A Séx Slave - 15- year-Old Girl Confesses

A 15-year-old nanny yesterday told a
court she was turned into a sex slave by
her hooker boss.
The girl, from Bubi district under Chief
Mtshane Khumalo, told Bulawayo
magistrate Gladmore Mushove in
Zimbabwe that she left home hoping to
get a job in the city — but her life had
turned into a living nightmare.
The teenage girl’s boss, Esther Precious
Moyo, 23, of Magwegwe North, is charged
with forcing her into prostitution.
Taking the witness stand, the girl said
between January 18 and February 2 this
year, Moyo took her to brothels, lodges
and bars, where she forced her to have
sex – sometimes without condoms – with
different men.
She told the court: “I left home to look for
a job in Bulawayo and met Moyo at
Egodini Terminus last month. I was with
my sister who told her that we were
looking for employment.
“Moyo said she could only take one of us
and she took me to her house in
Magwegwe North.”
She said three days later, Moyo asked her
to accompany her to town and she
agreed.
“We sat at Egodini until it was dark. She
went into a bar and returned with a man
who gave her $20,” she went on.
“She ordered me to go and sleep with the
man but I resisted. She shouted at me
and clapped me until I agreed.”
She said on another day, Moyo took her
to town again at night and surrendered
her to three men.
Said the girl: “She was given $20 and
ordered me to sleep with one of them
while she slept with another. I tried to
resist but she beat me up and forced me
to sleep with the other two men.”
The teenager – who cannot be named for
legal reasons – said she reported the
abuse to Moyo’s husband who did
nothing.
“He told me not to go with her to town.
She beat me up again and said there was
no way I could remain with her husband
as I would end up sleeping with him. She
continued forcing me to sleep with
different men,” narrated the girl.
Prosecutors said the young girl, who had
not started her menstrual cycle, started
bleeding after Moyo forced her to sleep
with one old man.
“She forced me to sleep with an old man
and I started bleeding, but she refused to
buy me sanitary pads. That day we slept
at Stop Over bar in town and in the
morning she took me to the flea market
along 8th Avenue and Robert Mugabe
Way (Kokhothama) to buy me second
hand clothes to change.
“That’s when some ladies noticed that I
was bleeding and became suspicious.
They questioned her and took us to the
police.”
Moyo admitted being a prostitute, but
denied forcing the girl to sleep with
different man, claiming she was already
in the habit of sleeping around for
money.
“I didn’t force her into prostitution,” she
protested. “I only hired her to look after
my three children, but discovered that
she was in the habit of sleeping with men
to get money. I decided to let her do what
she wanted while I also did my business.
“If I had known that she was 15, I would
not have hired her. Her sister told me
that she was 22 and she told me that she
was 18.”
A medical report submitted to court
shows that the girl is HIV negative,
pending further tests after three months.
The trial continues today with two
witnesses – Thembelihle Ndlovu and
Liznet Msimanga – who saw the girl
bleeding, expected to testify in court.