Defence grills State witness in ‘Brothel Brothers’ saak
|Published
Brothers Edward and Yannick Ayuk during the court’s site visit pic Monique
A State witness in the case of two brothers from Brooklyn accused of running a brothel and human trafficking took some heavy blows when proceedings resumed in the Western Cape High Court on Monday.
Yannick and Edward Ayuk, along with Edward’s wife Leandre Williams, face more than 40 charges for allegedly operating a brothel as well as forcing women to use drugs and work as prostitutes.
On the stand, a former sex worker turned State witness, was cross-examined by advocate Bashier Sibda.
Sibda questioned the witness on what she previously told the court regarding her relationship with Edward, her alleged pimp.
He claimed that Edward was more of a safeguard for the vrou, and he looked out for her, even to the extent to help her fix her relationship with her mother.
“His goal was to speak to you and your mother together, to reconcile,” Sibda said.
The mood in court changed when Sibda touched on the allegations that Edward once assaulted the witness and another woman.
“You never laid charges,” he stated. “My client claims that the assault never happened.”
The witness became frustrated, shook her head, then said: “I have nothing to say about that.”
She added that Edward will now claim he didn’t do it.
Sibda then accused her of changing her story now that she was under the pump, before standing down to consult with the brothers.
Last week, the court went for an inspection in loco at the alleged brothel on Piet Grobbelaar Street in Brooklyn.
The witness was shown photos and she identified the room where she slept, and also said a burglar gate on the front door was not attached during her time there.
Tuesday, legal counsel for accused number two, Williams, will question the State witness.