A 74-year-old Grassy Park oupa has been found guilty of enslavement and fined
R10 000 after he recruited three young men from the Northern Cape to work in shebeens.
Cosain Hendricks, 74, was found guilty in the Wynberg Regional Court last week after an investigation by the Hawks found that he sold three men from Colesberg for R700 each.
Hendricks, along with Athlone tavern owner Frank Britz, 67, were arrested after neighbourhood watch patrollers rescued the men.
McGyver Afrika, Sergio Sayers and José de Vries were brought to Cape Town on 27 July 2018 after being contacted by a “recruiter”.
They were sukkeling to find work in their hometown and Afrika, 22, explained they were contacted by his cousin, a domestic worker, who said a man was looking for four men and one woman for a business.
The trio packed their bags and got onto a bus, but when they arrived, Afrika and Sayers, 21, were taken to a tavern in Athlone where they had to pack beers and clean.
They were made to sleep on a single bed under an afdakkie covered with a net and went without food for a day.
Hendricks took De Vries, 21, to a house in Grassy Park.
Sayers said he became suspicious when he overheard a conversation between Hendricks and Britz and that the latter had paid R700 for each of them, and realised he and his friends had been sold.
They contacted their families, who called Athlone police and neighbourhood watches for
help and the men were rescued two days later.
The two men were arrested and later released on R1000 bail.
Hawks spokesperson, Captain Philani Nkwalase, says Hendricks was found guilty of enslavement and ordered to pay R10 000 or spend two years in the mang.
“The initial human trafficking charge against the suspects was converted to a contravention of the Employment Services Act,” Philani says.
“Consequently, the tavern owner was released as the victims were saved before they could be exploited.”
Hawks spokesperson, Captain Philani Nkwalase. File image
Sayers’ father, Roy, says the families are happy with the outcome.
“When they came home it was very emotional because of the danger they were in,” he says.
“The boys are doing well.
“They all got jobs as construction workers in Colesberg, but other young people are very scared after what happened to them.
“None of them want to go work in places like Cape Town and Johannesburg anymore.”